Sushi and Pocky Sticks
by Jaeiin
Summary: Searching for a quiet place to contemplate her next design, honor student Hiroshi Katou stumbles upon a group of men who claim to be hosts. However, to her surprise, she discovers that there's more to it than making girls swoon. In the midst of her growing friendship with the group, Hiroshi just may find herself falling for the very person who made her part of it all. (Kyouya X OC)
1. A Bunch of Weirdos Called the Host Club

— _Chapter 01_—

**_A Bunch of Weirdos Called the Host Club_**

* * *

A school library should have been relatively noiseless on some level, especially if there were more than one in the building. This clearly wasn't the case at Ouran Academy. I ran back and forth between all three, hearing incessant chatter among students before even completely opening the doors to each of them. Maybe going to such a fancy school was a little overrated.

The top floor of the south wing seemed to be one of the only remaining options. Upon taking this into account, I let out a sigh and made my way up the grand, red-carpeted staircase.

I stared at one of the first pairs of double doors that caught my eye, debating on whether to open them or not. A sign hung above it with an intricately detailed golden frame around it. It read: Music Room 3.

No sound seemed to be coming from inside, but I still felt a little wary. I didn't want to walk into a room full of people who were in the middle of something. Placing my ear to the surface of the door and still hearing nothing, I figured I'd give it a shot; the worst that could happen was an awkward situation. However, I certainly didn't expect to see what I did see once I turned the knobs and pushed the doors open.

I was first blinded by a bright light. I wasn't sure if I was being played around with or if this was some sort of photography club. "Not here," I thought, helplessly trying to feel for the door to shut it. Rose petals were being blown into my face.

"Welcome!" a chorus of friendly voices called out.

I gulped. "I'm not dead, am I?" I muttered.

After I was almost sure that my soul was going to drift upwards, I could see my surroundings more clearly. I was relieved to find out that the petals and the light were only effects, and I could now make out what the room I'd walked into looked like.

There were six guys who stood in front of me (except for one; he was sitting in the center). Two of them were identical twins. They stood in a very confident stance, and their mischievous grins somehow complimented their short red hair. A little boy with blond hair stood next to a man with black hair who towered over all of them. The one sitting in the chair, who was also blond, appeared to be a rather princely and charming man. He was smiling at me from where he was.

There were two other guys as well. I first looked at the boy with brown hair and a warm smile, and then turned my head towards the other man. I barely got a glimpse of him, though, since my eyes immediately snapped towards the one I first looked at.

This wasn't a boy. This was a friend of mine that I could have recognized from a mile away. I'd known about her haircut, but it looked much more neat than she usually wore it. I just wondered what she was doing in a guy's uniform.

She laughed. "Hiroshi?" she asked. "Don't tell me you're a customer."

"Huh? What are you doing here, Haruhi?"

"You know her?" one of the twins asked straightforwardly, breaking the supposedly dream-like aura that surrounded all of us.

"She has classes with us, you weirdos," Haruhi replied blankly, rolling her eyes. "You really haven't noticed?"

He took a good long look at me before responding. "Oh, right," he and his brother replied in unison. "She's the one who doesn't wear a uniform."

One twin eyed me carefully and then walked over to me with the other. "We've got a cutie on our hands," the both of them chuckled. Their faces were a little too close to mine for my liking.

There wasn't much room for me to speak.

The blond, princely-looking guy pushed him out of the way to take his place inches away from my face. "My darling," he began, tracing his finger along my jaw line. "Join us, will you? I'll shower you with the love that beauties like you deserve."

"Personal bubble here," I replied sternly, stepping back farther than an arm's reach from him.

The one man I hadn't seen had his back facing me and began speaking to the blond. "Now, now. Don't scare her off."

"But Mommy!" the blond whined with a pout on his face.

He completely disregarded this melodramatic guy's complaints and turned around to face me, and I was able to get a clearer look at his phsyical appearance.

His raven-colored hair was parted to the left, and a few stray bangs fell across his forehead. He had a very fair complexion seemed to contrast that dark hair color of his greatly. It also seemed that his version of a smile involved a closed mouth and the resemblance of a smirk; the left corner of his mouth was tugged up just slightly more than the other side.

He pushed his glasses up just slightly with his middle and index fingers. "I apologize for his... whimsical nature," he began. "I certainly hope he hasn't given you the wrong impression of our club."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" the blond shouted indignantly.

The guy with glasses peered over at the blond with a blank expression and then sighed, turning back towards me. "Allow me introduce myself properly; my name is Kyouya Ootori. I'm a second-year," he said. "I suppose you could consider me the manager of our host club."

I eyed him with a weird expression on my face. I didn't even know that host clubs were even real, much less that there would be one at the school I attended. "I see," I replied awkwardly.

"From what I've heard, you're another one of our honor students," he continued, opening a thin black notebook and scribbling something down. "Hiroshi Katou... this is also a common boys' name, is it not?"

"Uh, you know my last name?" I queried.

He didn't do so much as shift his attention from what he was scribbling down.

Before I could speak up again, Haruhi turned towards me. "So what are you doing here?" she inquired.

"I asked you first," I replied, laughing halfheartedly. "I was just looking for some peace and quiet, but all of the libraries were too noisy. Ironic, huh? So much for that."

"Contemplating your next design?"

"You could say that," I replied with a shrug. "By the way, mind telling me why you look like some cute teenage boy who stepped right out of a shoujo manga?"

"It's because she's trying to," one of the twins said, resting his elbow on Haruhi's shoulder.

"Uh, you could've told me about your preferences sooner, you know," I stated blankly.

I didn't really care which gender she preferred; I just thought I'd be one of the first people she told in addition to her dad.

Haruhi sighed and shook her head from side to side in attempts to get rid of my confusion. "No, no. You've got it all wrong. You see..." she began.

Her voice trailed off once the twins had fallen to the floor in a fit of violent laughter.

"Shut up, guys!" Haruhi huffed with a scowl, crossing her arms.

Kyouya, the only one whose name I knew at the moment, pushed his hand to his forehead and sighed. "This isn't how you treat a guest, Hikaru and Kaoru."

The both of them stood up again before wiping their tears. "Sorry, Kyouya-senpai."

"So as I was saying before being rudely interrupted,—" Haruhi glared at the twins momentarily, "—I have act as a male host in order to pay my debt to the club. I accidentally knocked one of their vases over and it shattered to pieces. Tamaki-senpai over there practically pushed me into it."

"For breaking a vase? Why couldn't they just replace it with another one?" I asked suspiciously.

She sighed. "Well, at a school like this, with people like this, each piece of furniture and decoration costs a lot. The vase itself was worth eight million yen."

My eyes widened. "What kind of person would think of—?!"

"Trust me, you're not the only one who's surprised here," she muttered, looking towards the other hosts with an irritable expression on her face.

"Then I guess they're really that wealthy, huh," I said nervously as I looked in the direction of the others as well.

"That's an understatement."

"Welcome, pretty lady!" the littlest of the group giggled, jumping up and scurrying over to me.

He looked like more of an elementary school student to me; that uniform must have been made in a much smaller size than the others.

"Hi there," I smiled. "I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name before."

"Haninozuka Mitsukuni, but Hani-senpai is fine!"

"Senpai?" I accidentally muttered.

"Oh, I'm a student here! I'm a third-year," he giggled with a good-natured, sweet smile on face.

I almost gasped as a response. It was difficult to believe that someone three-quarters of my size was two years my senior. I was already short enough as it was, too.

I stared at the pink stuffed bunny that he was squeezing to death as he looked in the direction of the tallest guy.

"Takashi!" he half-shouted and half-giggled. "Come over here! Introduce yourself to Hiro-chan!"

Once he made his way over, he seemed to tower over me.

"Nice to meet you," I replied with a nervous smile.

"Hello."

He certainly seemed more stoic than the others. "Morinozuka Takashi," he muttered with a throaty and monotonous tone of voice. "Mori."

"Now that you've officially met everyone, Hiroshi, would you care to be one of our customers?" Tamaki asked.

"No thanks."

"Why not, my dear?" he asked, tracing his fingertips along my lips with a seductive expression on his face that made me incredibly uncomfortable.

"Back up, buddy," I muttered, smacking his hand away.

"You seem pretty close with Hiroshi, Haruhi," Hikaru said. "Have you guys met before?"

"We've been friends since elementary school," she replied blankly as though she'd already said it a million times before.

Hikaru and Kaoru eyed me up and down. "Oh, another commoner? Figured as much."

Haruhi merely raised an eyebrow at them, as if she already heard them call her a commoner in the past.

"So, what's she going to do here if she doesn't wanna be a guest?" the twins asked in unison.

"Actually, it's alright," I replied. "I've gotta get a few other things done, anyways. I'll find another room."

I backed away slowly, turned around, and began pacing a little more quickly towards the door.

To my dismay, my attempted exit didn't go as smoothly as I hoped it would. I tripped on my shoelace and landed on the floor with a thud as a few loose pages in my sketchbook flew up.

"Ah, really," I muttered.

It wasn't too long before I saw a pair of legs in front of me, and I looked up slowly to see that Kyouya was standing above me with an odd expression on his face. After a few seconds had gone by, he held his hand out. What the heck was with this guy?

"I'm alright," I said quickly, standing up on my own and dusting myself off. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to—"

"You missed a spot," he said, looking at my left arm.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you..."

"It seems that your sleeve has dirt on it," he replied matter-of-factly, pulling me closer by my shoulder and dusting my arm off with his free hand.

I figured I'd let him help me a bit since it would only last for a second or two, but he stood in that stance for quite a while as he continued to pat my sleeve. The way he leaned in undoubtedly made me feel even more uneasy.

"Are you finished?" I asked, peering into his face.

His hand gradually came to a stop, and he looked back up. Our faces were way too close for comfort, but for some reason, I found myself unable to move.

Slowly, the corner of his mouth began to tug up again. Something weird was going on in my chest; my heart seemed to be beating a little faster than usual.

"Are you alright, Miss?" he asked in a cordial tone of voice despite his smug expression. "Your cheeks are rather flushed."

"It's just hot in here," I muttered irritably as I jumped away from his grip.

The twins began to giggle. "How's that possible? The school's ventilation systems in are flawless!"

Narrowing my eyes, I hoped my face would get back to its normal pigment. Unfortunately, I could still feel my cheeks burning slightly.

I puffed my cheeks up and exhaled before seeing the pair picking up a few of the loose sketches that had fallen out. Before I could say anything, one of them began to make remarks about them.

"Hm," Kaoru began. "Hikaru, check this out, will you?"

After his twin took a second to look over, he stared at the paper with a pensive expression on his face. "They're really not half bad," Hikaru replied.

I jogged over in an attempt to retrieve the sketches from them. "Could I have those back, please?"

The twins persisted. "No, let us see them! You know, they'd be great designs for..."

Their voices trailed off. They turned to look at each other more slowly than their grins took over their faces. "Hey, Boss!" they called out in unison, turning towards Tamaki. "Aren't we wearing yukata for our meeting this week?"

"Why do you ask?" Tamaki wondered in a melodic tone.

They held the sketches up. "Let's make something out of these!"

Tamaki took a little while to process their statement, and they turned towards me again. "We didn't know you designed," Hikaru said.

"I mentioned it to Haruhi earlier. Weren't you listening? Hey, give it back! Sheesh," I huffed, "I never said you could—"

"These really are great, Hiro-chan!" Hani cut in, becoming starry-eyed at one of the designs. "Could we use them?"

I peered over at my sketch pad. "Wouldn't you guys prefer to hire a professional?"

Kyouya sighed. "We know better than to let our wealth go down the drain so easily. These sketches would likely do the job; this may very well save time and money."

Hani-senpai looked at me with his humongous puppy eyes, clenching onto his pink stuffed bunny. "Please, Hiro-chan?"

I told myself I wouldn't give in despite the fact that it would be really difficult not to go along with this cute kid.

Smacking my hand onto my forehead, I'd immediately remembered that he was a high school student.

I sighed and opened my eyes back up. "Well... if it'll really be easier for you, I don't see why not."

"Lovely!" Tamaki sang. "Hikaru and Kaoru, scan these sketches immediately," he instructed as the twins saluted him and ran off with my sketchbook. He then turned in the other direction. "Kyouya! Find someone who can turn designs into pure magicalness!"

"Magicalness, Tama-chan?" Hani wondered out loud. "Is that really a word?"

"Boss has always been this way; don't be too surprised," the twins whispered to me simultaneously once they caught sight of my confused expression. "He likes to make the most of life by over-dramaticizing things."

I figured as much. I had to admit, though, I was looking forward to seeing my designs come to life. It couldn't hurt to find out this so-called host club was really about, anyways.


	2. A Wild Fangirl Appears

— _Chapter 02 _—

**_A Wild Fangirl Appears_**

* * *

The hallways of Ouran Academy were enormous compared to the high school I would have attended if I hadn't been admitted. It all felt like one huge maze that I'd never find my way through sometimes. It didn't help that it was so early in the morning.

In the midst of wandering around, I happened to stumble upon music room three, where a group of guys held meetings for their club. They claimed to be the prestigious, infamous Ouran host club, but I had yet to find out what all of the hype was about. Who would've thought of such an idea?

I needed to return to the music room, though, since I somehow managed to allow a few stray sketches of clothing designs fly out of my arms the day before. They wanted to use my designs for a single event, and I figured I'd grant them permission. It was only one day, after all, and Haruhi happened to be in the club.

_How the heck did I navigate toward that room before? _I thought, frustrated that I couldn't find music room three as easily as I did before while only wandering through the halls.

"_Sexual harassment?! _What those shady twinswere doing to you should be considered sexual harassment!" I heard Tamaki yelp. This may have been a blessing in disguise, though, since his extremely loud and dramatic voice helped me to find my way to music room three.

"_All of you!_" an unfamiliar voice shouted. It seemed to be the voice of an energetic woman. "Every single one of you, with the exception of Kyouya, has a lukewarm personality! It's time to give you all a different aura!"

I peeked in, wondering what on earth was going on in that room. My stealth didn't last very long, however. There stood a female student with long, light brown hair, pointing her finger at the group of confused hosts.

Kyouya peered over the girl's shoulder. After staring at me for a little while, he motioned for me to come in.

I slowly crept into the room, catching sight of the colorful yukata I'd designed. I stared in amazement, at the sight my designs having come to life.

"Who is _she?_" the girl with long hair asked, staring me down as I took a few steps forward into the room.

"I'm uh… I'm—"

"The designer of the yukata we're dressed in," Kyouya explained. "Her name is Hiroshi Katou."

The girl eyed me from head to toe several more times, and she stared at Kyouya to observe his expression. Her eyes snapped towards me once again, and this time, she had a smile on her face. "Darling Kyouya seems to be okay with you, so," she began, giving me an expression of approval, "let me introduce myself! I'm Renge Houshakuji, the new manager of the host club. Pleased to meet you!"

"You too, Renge," I replied, amused.

Kyouya stared at Renge with an odd expression, clearly perplexed at her pet names for him, but she wasn't paying attention in the slightest. What she now seemed to be concerned about was the host club's image.

"So anyways," she said with a suddenly stern expression on her face, "We need to change your overall aura! All of you, except for Kyouya! You know what that means?"

The hosts only stared dumbfoundedly.

Over the course of a few hours, Renge managed to pull together an entire movie set, complete with directors, cameras; you name it. She wrote a rather dramatic script. Each host, apart from Kyouya, was in some sort of theatrical scene.

Hikaru and Kaoru, now in basketball uniforms, were located in the middle of a court. Cameras and light sources were aimed at them as they acted out their lines. They did a fairly good job of it, I must say.

Kaoru had dramatically fallen down, the extras came in with a stretcher. Hikaru rushed over to him and bent down. "Kaoru!" he exclaimed, teary-eyed.

"Hikaru, we need you; you have to get back in the game!" the coach pleaded in a panic.

"_Shut up!_" Hikaru shouted.

He turned towards Kaoru once again with the same pained expression.

"Hikaru," Kaoru whispered as he placed his hand gently on his twin's cheek. "You can't feel my pain. It's alright; there's nothing you can do."

A tear rolled down Hikaru's cheek as he clasped both of his hands over Kaoru's. "It hurts," he choked out. "I can't leave you like this, Kaoru! I _can't!_"

Renge pulled out a microphone to read her lines as a narrator then, reciting another little monologue about how beautiful such brotherly love could be.

The scene transitioned then. Tamaki stood in the middle of a field with a hose spouting water in the air to make it look like it was raining. The lighting effects helped as well, adding a dismal mood to the entirety of the scene.

Tamaki ran his fingers through his hair. He sighed, closing his eyes. "Being the school idol really isn't all that," he said sighed. "Being looked up to for something so superficial. How pathetic."

The fact that Tamaki was able to transform drastically from this huge dork to a more dark character for a role came as a pretty big shocker; even Haruhi seemed to be surprised.

The next scene, of course, was as depressing as the other two. Hani was chasing Haruhi through the woods with Mori, which made her run into a dead end. "It really pisses me off when people don't know their pl—" Hani-senpai angrily began.

But he was cut off by his own emotions before he could finish, and he'd lost his malicious expression completely in a matter of seconds. His lips began to form into a pout and his eyes became wide as they pooled with tears. He trembled just slightly once he looked down at Haruhi.

"_Waaaaahhhh!_" he wailed, running towards her. It wasn't long before he plunged into her arms and began to sob loudly. "I'm so sorry, Haru-chan!" he exclaimed. "I'll never, ever be mean to you ever again!"

Renge's lips began to form into a pout of their own as she narrowed her eyes at Hani. "Cut! Cut!" she shouted angrily as the cameras were paused momentarily and the hoses were turned off. "This is by no meansokay!" she shouted from her director chair. "You have to recite the line!"

"But I don't wanna be mean to Haru-chan!" Hani sniffled.

The rest of us watched intently as all of this take place. Now that I thought about it, it seemed that the hosts were a little more skilled in acting than the average high school student. Maybe living in such a prestigious environment all their lives had some sort of positieve impact on their skills.

"You guys are doing pretty well with all of this," I said, turning towards them.

Hikaru cracked a smile. "Really, now?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess," I shrugged.

Kaoru patted my head. "We try," he replied.

There was a faint sound of glass breaking, and my head turned in the direction of where the noise seemed to have come from. It appeared that something had happened just around the corner, and I jogged over to see if there had been any injuries or if there was help needed.

It wasn't what I'd expected to see. Renge stood dumbfoundedly as Kyouya narrowed his eyes at her irritably. Standing right next to him was the camera crew, panicking and on the verge of hyperventilating.

Kyouya's hand was in the camera lens. It appeared he'd slammed a rock into it and severely damaged it.

"I believe you've already caused enough trouble here, Renge. Please do quit being a pest," he said with such poise that it must have caused Renge to have a heart attack. Just hearing him say something like that hurt _my _feelings.

Renge's eyes began to pool with tears as she let out a sob. "You're supposed to pat me on the head and tell me not to worry! You're supposed to be kind and affectionate, Kyouya!" she exclaimed as she looked at him with a pained expression. "Why? Why are you acting so differently?" she sniffled.

Tamaki stepped away from an anxious Haruhi and towards the conflicted pair. "Because that's not the real Kyouya," he explained.

Renge looked up at the blond as tears continued to stream from her eyes. Suddenly, she fell to her knees and put both of her hands to her face.

Haruhi and I peered at each other nervously, but after a few seconds, she decided to make her way over to Renge. She looked down at her with a worried expression on her face.

"Does it really matter, Renge?" she asked. She crouched down in front of her as Renge looked back up. "Who cares if Kyouya-senpai's a little different than you expected him to be? Get to know him little by little. It's more fun that way," she explained with a charismatic smile.

Just as Renge peered down slightly, Kyouya began to make his way past me. I would have let him be if I hadn't noticed something peculiar; it appeared that his hand had been badly cut. It must have been from the broken glass, and I felt a surge of panic once I caught sight of it. "Uh... Kyouya-senpai, you're..." I began nervously, walking over to him.

"I appreciate your concern, Hiroshi, but I'm quite alright," he replied shortly, continuing to walk a little further past me.

I placed my hand on his arm, and he hesitated briefly before slowly turning to face me. He eyed me with an odd expression that seemed to ask me if I needed help with something.

I peered down at his hand and let out a sigh. "Hey!" I called out, peering at the camera crew above us. "Any of you have a bandage of some sort?" I asked loudly.

One of them reached into his pocket and threw a ball of gauze in my direction before shifting his attention back to the others.

I picked it up off of the ground and reached to the side to hold Kyouya's wrist up in front of me. He tensed up, but to my surprise, he cooperated.

Although I avoided his gaze while wrapping the bandage around his hand, I was able to see that he'd been staring at me with slightly wide eyes the entire time I'd been doing so. What was he looking at me like that for? Surely this hasn't been the first time someone else had treated an injury of his.

"You know," I began after pinning the gauze in place, "In a lot of cases, girls are more sensitive and their feelings get hurt more easily than guys' feelings do."

"Your point being?"

"You shouldn't have said those things to Renge."

"She was being quite bothersome, you have to admit," he replied. "I was only being frank."

"You couldn't have worded things differently?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "She may have been a little troublesome, but to call her a pest probably wasn't the best thing to do. You've gotta take peoples' feelings into consideration."

He stared at me with a slightly pensive expression for a few long seconds. "I suppose this is true," he replied, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. His expression had changed back into the usual friendly but formal one. "But you see, the only reason she's after me is because of some love-simulation game called a dating sim. I believe its name is _UkiDoki Memorial._"

"What does this have to do with a dating sim?"

"In her eyes, almost all of my features resemble those of the main love interest in the game. Based off of what Renge told us, I believe his name is Ichijo Miyabi."

I thought about the name Ichijo Miyabi, trying to remember his face from the advertisements I saw for UkiDoki Memorial. My eyes then snapped towards Kyouya's face, and I imagined what he and Ichijo would look like, side by side.

I laughed to the point where my stomach hurt; the resemblance was hilarious. I then fell to my knees, still laughing uncontrollably at that point with tears welling up in my eyes.

"Everything alright?" Kyouya asked.

I made every attempt to stop myself from laughing anymore, but I really couldn't help it.

Hikaru and Tamaki bent down in front of me and grabbed my shoulders, trying to shake it out of me as if my laughter would stop that way. I was well aware of the fact that it wouldn't work in the slightest.

Hani-senpai shot me a sympathetic look, and then his face lit up. So did the imaginary light bulb floating over his head. "Hey Hiro-chan!"

He stuffed my face with the piece of strawberry shortcake that he happened to have in his hands, and because my mouth was full, my laughing gradually slowed.

"Thanks," I exhaled as my fit of laughter had ended.

"Any time, Hiro-chan!" he beamed, jumping into my arms. I hugged him back instinctively, thinking of him as a little kid that nearly everyone would have difficulty resisting, but I remembered the fact that he was two grade levels above me, and the situation suddenly seemed a bit awkward.

"Sorry, guys," I said. I got up and turned to Kyouya. "I guess I can see where Renge's coming from."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he smiled.

It was then that the small cell phone in my pocket vibrated. I yawned and flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Are you on your way?"

I immediately recognized my mom's voice, remembering that I was a little late walking home.

"Sorry, mom; I lost track of time."

The hosts were having loud, lively conversations with each other in the background.

"Are you with friends, dear?" she asked excitedly.

"Well..."

"I'm glad!" she exclaimed. "Tell me all about it when you get home!"

I suppose this was reasonably understandable. The closest friend I'd kept was Haruhi, and my social life outside of that wasn't necessarily something to brag about.

After hanging up, I turned towards the hosts again. "Sorry, guys. I've gotta go now. It was really nice to see my designs come to life, though. Thanks, everyone," I smiled, bowing slightly.

"Well, we were glad to be the people to wear them," the twins said.

Each of the hosts stood smiling at me. I felt some sort of weird fuzzy feeling in my heart before we all gave each other a final wave goodbye. Haruhi gave me a quick hug and a promise to spend some hang-out time with me soon, and with that, I headed towards the front of the school.

The sunset made the sky look as though it were painted a mixture of orange and pink. I made my way towards the opened gate. I never really paid attention to how pretty the school was.

Today certainly was a fun experience, and I wondered if the hosts might have asked me to do another design for them. Then, I hung my head, thinking that maybe it was only a one time thing. What were the chances?

No, the real question was, was I supposed to feel so depressed about leaving things this way?

Because, to my surprise, I _was _feeling saddened. I was looking forward to experiencing that feeling again. I got to see my designs on actual people, and that meant the world to me, believe it or not. I probably wouldn't have a reason to be seeing the hosts anymore, other than the fact that Haruhi was in the club, but I didn't want to be a nuisance to her or to the others.

"Hiroshi!" I heard a voice call in the distance.

I saw a man jogging in my direction. Slightly wary, I squinted my eyes a little to clear my vision up, and I realized that the figure making its way towards me was only Kyouya.

"Slow down, Senpai! I'm not patching up anymore injuries if you trip and fall, you know!" I called out.

He finally reached me, winded from the running. "Hiroshi, there's something I wanted to..." his voice trailed off into deep breaths. He must have run a long way if he was originally at the back of the school, where Renge's entire set-up was.

I chuckled. "Breathe first."

He was still having a bit of difficulty, but his breathing gradually slowed, and he was able to speak clearly again. "If you wouldn't mind," he began, leaning in. "Would you consider being the host club's official designer?"

My eyes widened with excitement, but they quickly returned to their normal state in a matter of seconds. "Like I said, wouldn't you guys prefer someone with more experience?"

He was so close to me that he practically forced my back against the wall which the gate was attached to. "Like _I _said, wealthy people usually don't like their money going to waste. Plus, your designs are fairly good for an amateur."

I was slightly offended by the term for some reason. "An amateur, huh?"

He pressed his finger to my mouth, grinning. My heart beat sped up a bit then. What was this, his way of convincing me?

"I can already see you're having a hard time denying it," he said. "You'd clearly like to be our designer."

I pushed his hand away. "Could you quit doing that?" I asked anxiously.

"What exactly do you mean?" he asked smugly, although I could tell he was aware of _exactly _what he was doing. I didn't quite feel like protesting, though. He would have come back with another witty comment.

I sighed. "Never mind."

"So, what's your answer?"

I envisioned what my designs looked on the hosts earlier today. The corner of my mouth began to tug up into a smile, betraying my more serious expression. I appreciated the opportunity, but I was still doubtful as to how I'd be able to meet their expectations.

"I'll do it," I said, although not meeting his gaze.

"What was that?" he grinned.

He knew what I said; he just wanted to hear me say it with more audacity. I looked up and scowled slightly at his expression. "I'll be the host club's designer," I said in a louder tone of voice.

He laughed. "Well then, in case you weren't aware, we meet in Music Room Three each day right after school. You'll be sketching our clothing designs while we plan and discuss our weekly openings. That is, if you really are considering taking up the position."

I nodded and looked back up at him, still not being able to let things sink in. My heart was about to explode; I couldn't believe I was going to be able to continue to put my love for designing to good use. "Then I'll see you tomorrow," I said, bowing just slightly before turning in the other direction.

I began to walk off, but he placed a hand on my shoulder before I could go any further.

He pulled me back just a little before I turned slightly to look at him again.

"I don't believe I thanked you for tending to my injury, Hiroshi," he said. Ironically enough, he smiled innocently instead of grinning this time.

I looked back at the bandage I'd wrapped around his injured hand. "Well, you didn't think I'd feel comfortable letting someone walk around with a bloody hand, did you?" I laughed halfheartedly.

A few long seconds passed before Kyouya allowed an expression of amusement to cross his face. "I suppose not."

"Well, I'll be heading to the club room after school, then," I said.

With one last wave to each other, I began my walk home.


	3. Sibling Rivalry

_— Chapter 03 —_

**_Sibling Rivalry_**

* * *

With the decision made that I was now the host club's official cosplay designer, meeting with the hosts every day after school was mandatory. It was the first day that I'dbe staying after school for this purpose, and so immediately after I entered music room three, Tamaki eyed me with a ponderous expression. The twins stared at me from head to toe, and then their eyes darted towards what I was holding in my left hand: my sketchbook.

"Is there something on my face?" I asked.

The twins shook their heads from side to side, still eyeing the book.

Tamaki stroked his chin, eyeing my sketchbook alongside Hikaru and Kaoru. "We need to discuss the quality of your supplies."

"My supplies?"

Before I could react, Hikaru dashed over to grab my sketchbook straight from my hands. Kaoru quickly made his way over to my other side and took my pencil set as well.

"H-Hey," I stammered, staring at them with an expression of befuddlement. "What are you guys doing?"

I could have sworn that my heart skipped a beat upon hearing a ripping sound. The two of them had torn out the first page, and that, of course, made me swear that I'd kill them in about ten seconds if they did anything else.

"_Hikaru!_" I shouted, hurriedly pacing forward in his direction as my heart began to plummet. "Are you guys crazy?!"

My attempts were rendered useless, however. Before I knew it, Mori had caught on to my shirt to hold me back. I swiftly turned my head in his direction with a furious expression. "They're ripping my sketchbook apart!" I exclaimed.

Mori only continued to stare blankly as I slowly turned my head in the twins' direction once more. To my surprise, my assumptions were incorrect; they were neatly tearing the sketches out and applying adhesive tape to the edges of them.

"They're taping them to the new one," Mori replied shortly, finally releasing his grip.

After a few long seconds, I was able to see that Hikaru and Kaoru were pasting them onto the pages of a larger sketch pad. My muscles began to relax and I exhaled in relief. My heartbeat had begun to slow to its natural rate once more as I stepped forward towards them.

Hikaru opened it up to one of the pages on which they'd taped an original sketch. "Looks nice on a bigger canvas, doesn't it?"

He handed it over to Kaoru, who shut the large book and held it out in my direction. "It's all yours."

I slowly turned my gaze towards the front cover, and it was hard to keep myself from gazing at it for too long. It was one of the prettiest covers I'd ever seen; the style was simple, yet it held a certain intricacy to it that made it unique. "You don't mean..." I muttered before my voice had trailed off.

"Did we sound like we were kidding?" the two sighed simultaneously, tossing it over to me so that I'd take it. "You like it, right?"

"Of course," I replied hastily.

They let out a chuckle and tossed my pencil case back towards me as well.

"We're not sure if you'd want that beat-up set of pencils, either, though," Hikaru said, peering towards the small case in my hand.

I raised an eyebrow at the pair as they giggled. "Hey, they get the job done. They've held up for a really long while; they just need a little..."

Once I could see Kyouya making his way towards me, I shifted my gaze in his direction and my voice trailed off. He held a large, flat case in his hands, and it only took a few seconds for me to recognize the logo on the front. It was an expensive art supplies brand that I'd only seen the more famous artists and designers make use of. My mouth hung agape.

All of the charcoal pencils were all arranged in a neat line from darkest to lightest. There were so many colored ones as well; so many shades and tints. Such a sight was so amazing that I couldn't help but feel skeptical.

"Are you going to take them?" Kyouya asked. "I find it hard to believe that an aspiring clothing designer like yourself could resist all of these lovely shades of blue: aquamarine, sparkling sea, midnight, and even—"

"I get it, I get it," I cut in. "I'm afraid I can't accept your offer."

Instead of laughing and claiming that I was correct, however, all of them gazed at me momentarily in befuddlement. The set of supplies was still being held out to me.

Hani's eyes widened slightly in confusion. "Why not, Hiro-chan?" he asked. "We can get you another set of pencils, if you want! It's okay if you don't like this brand. We can pick out another one with you later."

"No, it's not that, trust me!" I replied hastily. "This is probably the one of the nicest things that anyone has ever done for me."

The confused expressions still didn't leave their faces.

"I really appreciate it. I mean it. I don't know who wouldn't," I said. "But you see, I already have a sketchbook and a few pencils right here. I can manage; please don't feel like you need to buy all of these supplies for me."

"Don't be ridiculous," Kyouya replied, continuing to hold out the case in my direction. "It makes things easier for the seamstresses to know which colors and fabrics to make use of. We're gaining quite a bit from this as well."

"Because I don't want to have to drag that stupid heavy dress around all day," I retorted.

"Just think of this as one of your paychecks," Kyouya explained. "You're already doing us a favor."

I peered downwards once more. "You sure, Kyouya-senpai?"

"A simple 'thank you' would do," he stated simply.

"Well, I really appreciate everything. Thank you."

Little did I know that Kyouya was now standing relatively close to me. I looked up, and my eyes immediately began to widen in realization of how close our faces seemed to be. I could have sworn I made an audible gulp once the corner of his mouth tugged up slightly again.

He turned to walk over to another group of customers, and Hikaru and Kaoru turned to look at me with smug expressions on their faces.

"What?" I asked suspiciously.

"Someone's been struck by cupid's arrow again," they chuckled simultaneously.

"Please," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

Haruhi made her way over to me with a sad smile. "My dad's been worried about why you haven't come over recently. I'm sure that the both of us have been really busy so far in the school year; I'm sorry we haven't had many opportunities for sleepovers and things of that sort."

"Would this weekend be a good opportunity to catch up?" I asked. "I'm getting the feeling that your dad needs someone to watch Asian dramas with him, anyways."

"I wonder where you got that idea," Haruhi laughed in reply.

Just as I let out a chuckle, Tamaki rushed over alongside the twins. "Did I hear the word 'sleepover' come out of Haruhi's mouth?" he asked in a melodic tone of voice.

"Ooh!" the twins exclaimed simultaneously. "Can we come, too?"

Haruhi only allowed her eyes to become half-lidded in irritation. "No," she replied shortly.

Hikaru and Kaoru pouted alongside Tamaki. "Aw, c'mon, Haruhi!"

"I hope you're kidding. You guys are just gonna make fun of me."

"No, we won't! It could be a great learning experience to visit the home of a commoner! Don't you think so, Hiroshi?"

"Referring to her as a commoner isn't exactly helping to get your point across," I muttered in reply.

They completely disregarded what I told them, and they turned their heads to me with wide eyes. "Can we come to your house, too, Hiroshi?" they asked.

Tamaki became starry-eyed at such a thought. "What a marvelous idea!"

I wondered if they were serious or if they were making fun of us as they went on, excitedly talking about how the life of a so-called commoner would be extremely interesting. It was difficult to distinguish.

"Are they kidding?" I asked.

She pondered upon my question for a while, looking in the direction of the Tamaki and the twins, and then answered. "Who knows," she sighed.

We then heard a door creak open from behind us (one that I didn't even recall being there, I might add). All of us stared in its direction for a few minutes in awkward silence, wondering how the heck it even got there.

"Children, look here!" Tamaki gasped, as if reaching an epiphany. "Narnia!"

"Senpai, what the—"

"That mystical doorway just has to lead to Narnia! Oh, yay! Come on everyone, get your coats on, so we can defeat the white witch and meet Aslan and—"

"You moron," Kyouya cut in. "It's Nekozawa-senpai."

His expression turned from ridiculously excited to frightened, and another man stepped out of the doorway. The first thing I caught sight of was his creepy grin, and then the other features followed. His entire body was draped in a purple cloak. A hood and black bangs covered his eyes completely; I wonder if he could even see past them. His skin, or what I could see of it, anyways, was quite pale. It seemed as though he hadn't stepped out into the sunlight for ages.

"Why hello there," he grinned. "I've never seen you in person before. I assume that you're part of this host club I hear so much about."

"I guess you could say that," I said.

"Yep, she's our designer," Hani replied casually. Unlike the man who claimed to be king of the host club, he wasn't phased one bit.

"Very pleased to meet you, Hiroshi Katou. I'm Umehito Nekozawa."

"... how do you know my full na—"

"How would you like to meet my cat, Bellzenef?" he cut in.

"Uh," I began, peering nervously over at the creepy cat puppet he was wearing on his hand.

"Just take a few steps closer," he grinned once again. "Join the black magic club, and all of your vengeful wishes shall be granted," he grinned.

"Uh, I don't really have any vengeful wishes," I replied blankly.

"Don't do it, Hiroshi!" shouted Hikaru and Kaoru hastily, immediately sweeping me up into their arms and backing away.

"It's true! You'll have horribly bad luck! It happened to me on the day of our final exams last year," Tamaki dry-sobbed.

He then went into theatre mode, narrating his flashback. "It all happened so quickly. I was strolling down the hallway, gracefully walking as the king of the host club should—" he paused, and then sparkled unrealistically somehow, "—when I'd accidentally stepped on that weirdo Nekozawa's puppet, Bellzenef! And then when I walked into the classroom to take my exam, it was in some weird writing that I didn't understand a word of. And when I turned around, the classroom was filled with people I didn't even know!" he hyperventilated.

"That's because you got so scared that you walked into the Greek class and took their final examination instead," Kyouya explained.

"Well the same exact week I woke up and my legs felt as heavy as lead! Now how do you explain that!"

Kyouya sighed. "It's because you ran a marathon the day before, remember, Tamaki?"

Friggin' rich people these days. They were really different from what I saw on soap operas and things of that sort. Although such depictions were probably mere stereotypes, I imagined them to be a little more sophisticated and proper.

When they were by themselves, they were the biggest dorks on the planet, but with their guests, they acted as prim and proper as one could possibly get.

It was easy to make that conclusion once I saw them in action the following day.

"Oh, Tamaki!" one customer gasped as the whimsical blond held her closely.

"My gorgeous blooming cherry blossom," Tamaki began with a dreamy sigh, taking her face in his hands. "Your skin is as soft as silk."

He'd done this with so many other girls that I wondered if it had ever started a fight between them, but to my surprise, when a customer saw another girl with Tamaki, she'd gawk and squeal as well.

"May I take a look at what you have so far?" Kyouya asked, breaking my train of thought. He opened up my sketchbook, flipping through the designs with a short nod of what I hoped were ones of approval.

"Thoughts?" I asked.

"Tamaki's idea of an Arabian royalty theme is a little eccentric, I'd have to say. But with the way you've designed the attire, it would be a lie to say that I'm not looking forward to dressing in such a manner."

I allowed a shy smile to cross my face; it was nice to know that at least one host had taken a liking to them. "I'm glad," I replied.

"Making good use of the supplies, I see."

"How much did they cost, anyway?"

He peered over in my direction. "Total? Well, let's take a look."

After pulled out his calculator like it was his sword and tapping on a few of the buttons, he leaned in to whisper the amount to me.

"What!" I exclaimed, resting my hand onto my forehead and puffing out my cheeks. "No matter how many designs I make for you guys, it'll never be enough to compensate for that. And didn't you say that all of you don't like to spend money so frivolously?"

As soon as I tilted my head back up, his eyes seemed to be burning two holes in my head.

"You're over-thinking things again," he began. "It's finalized; the sketchbook and the pencils are now your legal possessions. If we didn't want to buy them for you, we wouldn't have."

A few long seconds of silence between us passed before I spoke up again. "Well, they're amazing," I said. "I'll of course keep doing my best."

To my surprise, the corner of Kyouya's lips began to tug up just slightly, and he let out a small chuckle before nodding once. He pushed his glasses into place before strolling off towards another group of guests.

I raised an eyebrow. This guy's reactions were a little odd; was he amused by my gratitude or something?

"Time to play the 'Which One is Hikaru' game!" the twins exclaimed, breaking my train of thought.

I shifted my gaze in their direction to see that the pair had placed green caps on top of their heads. "Without being able to see which way our hair is parted, it's hard to tell which one is Hikaru and which one is Kaoru!"

Hikaru and Kaoru turned towards me with curious expressions on their faces. "Hiroshi! Haruhi! Why don't you try to take a guess?"

I shrugged before looking towards the two of them, and Haruhi and I shot them a weird expression. "You're Hikaru," she replied casually as I turned to the twin on the left.

They stared in befuddlement for a fraction of a second before I let out a chuckle. "What, did you guys think we'd get it wrong or something?" I asked.

"Sorry, that'd be incorrect!" they chorused.

Haruhi and I looked at each other in disbelief for a fragment of a second, before shooting the twins another suspicious look. "Haruhi was right," I replied with a shrug.

"The one on the left is Hikaru. We're certain."

They clearly didn't want to admit that they were wrong; the blank stares gave it away.

"Oh, my!" a guest exclaimed. "Please let us know how you can tell them apart!"

I turned towards the twin on the right. "Kaoru's voice is a little softer than Hikaru's," I replied.

"In addition," Haruhi began, "Hikaru's words and actions make him seem slightly more mischievous than Kaoru."

The guest let out a dismal sigh in reply. "Aw, I still can't tell them apart, though!"

Kaoru turned to his twin and let out a chuckle, but instead of mimicking the action, Hikaru raised an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?" he asked. "You know, I'm not the one with the girly voice."

Kaoru's expression turned slightly sour when he turned towards Hikaru. "Well, you're the mischievous one, just like Haruhi said."

"Yeah, so?"

"You're the villain of the two."

"I may be the one who comes up with the ideas, but you're the one that really gets into them, anyways," Hikaru replied defensively, crossing his arms in a way that made me question his seriousness. "And for the record, it's really annoying when you climb into my bed in the middle of the night."

"I only do that because you look lonely!"

The customers squealed in delight; they'd probably envisioned the pair sleeping together at that point.

The pair continued to bicker over topics so reidiculous that I didn't think it would last long, so I began to make my way in the other direction.

Unfortunately, even long after the guests had gone away, their argument continued. Things were more serious than the rest of us thought they would be.

* * *

"A whole box of nail polish bottles?" I laughed nervously, taking my usual seat beside Haruhi in classroom 1-A. "I hope your dad realizes that we won't be using all of that."

"It's alright," Haruhi replied. "He uses it for himself, anyways. Remember? He was just offering to let us borrow them. I guess I'll let him know again once—_whoa!_" she exclaimed, shifting her attention to the side with a jump.

I quickly turned my head to see what startled her, and at the sight of Hikaru, I jumped as well.

"Hey, you two," he yawned. "Good morning so far?"

"Is that a wig?" I asked quietly as my eyes continued to widen in shock.

"Oh, do you like it?" he asked casually, reaching up to ruffle his flamingo-colored hair. "Personally, I think that pink suits me well. This way, Kaoru and I won't be getting mixed up anymore... what a relief."

Shortly thereafter, Kaoru strolled in casually as well. "Good morning Haruhi, Hiroshi."

"Hey, Kao—_you too?!_" I shouted. My mouth hung agape as I gazed at him in bewilderment. In contrast to his brother, he'd dyed his hair a bright shade of blue.

"So Hiroshi," he began, taking his seat next to me. "I had an awful nightmare last night about dying my hair pink! It was so horrific that I woke up screaming," he laughed sarcastically. "What a stupid color!"

Hikaru glared at him, followed by an identical scowl from his twin. With that, the argument was bound to last much longer.

* * *

The rest of us were concerned, of course. Because Hikaru and Kaoru weren't present for our private meeting the following day, we were able to discuss the issue.

"I've never seen Hika-chan and Kao-chan fight before," Hani sighed, clutching Usa-chan tightly to his chest. "And I've known them since preschool."

I paused the strokes of my pencil and looked up from my sketchbook. "So they've never even had a disagreement before?"

Kyouya peered up at me from his laptop screen. "As far as I'm concerned, no. They've never had an argument."

"But if that's the case, then when will they know when to call it quits?" Haruhi asked.

I puffed out my cheeks as I grabbed another shade of purple from my pencil set. "Really, I hope this doesn't go on forever."

Kyouya shifted his gaze in our direction once more with an all-too-innocent smile. "Hiroshi, Haruhi, try not to place the entirety of the blame on yourselves. It was only those little remarks that set them off, right?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. He clearly thought that Haruhi and I were the cause of all of the commotion.

A few more minutes had gone by before everyone gathered their belongings to head out for the day.

The hosts waved at me, telling me that they'd see me tomorrow as well. I did the same with them. The bell from the clock tower rang, and as I walked further down the hall, I stared out of the large window at the multitude of colors that made up the sunset. What a beautiful sight; I'd paint it right then and there if I had the time.

I couldn't seem to get Hikaru's and Kaoru's argument, however. I'd barely known them for a week, but the thought of me being the cause of their broken bond was something that bothered me greatly.

Steady footsteps echoed through the hallway behind me, and I turned to see Kyouya strolling towards me. "You left your textbook," he called out.

"Ah, sorry. Thanks, Senpai," I said, bowing a little once he'd reached me. I took the textbook from his hands carefully and was on my way again.

"Hey," he began, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I turned back around as his hand dropped, and a few long seconds of silence ensued.

He seemed to be staring directly at me, and I stared in return. Some weird feeling was beginning to wash over me; I could feel my face beginning to flush.

"I meant it when I advised you not to worry too much. It's only a matter of time before they realize that this entire thing is pointless," he said, giving me a small pat on my head. He backed away with a light chuckle. "Take care," he said before walking in the opposite direction.

I gulped and pressed my hand to the same spot he'd touched on my head. "Right," I muttered.

I shook my head from side to side quickly, almost as if to rid my mind of any weird thoughts. I jogged in the opposite direction as a sigh escaped me. Hopefully Hikaru and Kaoru would be able to make up just as easily as they'd gotten into such an argument.


	4. And So They Reconciled

— _Chapter 04 _—

**_And So They Reconciled_**

* * *

The twins' argument had gone on for so long the following afternoon and had gotten so heated that a huge pile of items were sitting in the middle of the room; they spent all of that time trying to throw anything within reach at each other.

Even poor Hani was thrown up into the pile, but he sat on top without a care in the world, happily clutching Usa-chan closely to him despite his predicament.

However, the rest of us were annoyed by it greatly.

"This is starting to drive me crazy, you two," Tamaki sighed at the continuously bickering pair in exhaustion. "Really, would it be such a pain to call it quits already?"

"You're the one who's going crazy, Tamaki-senpai?!" Hikaru shouted. "Take my feelings into consideration, will you? Every time I look in the mirror, I see his face!" he continued loudly in a flurry of death glares to his twin. "I'm sick and tired of being mistaken forhim! The truth is, Kaoru, I hate your guts!"

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Kaoru began with a clenched jaw as he pulled a small wooden cat from his pocket. Everyone's eyes widened.

A haughtier expression overtook the blue-haired twin's face as he pulled out a black marker with his other hand. "And to prove it, I'll even write your name on the back of Bellzenef the curse doll! You have no idea how much misfortune you have headed in your direction—"

"_S__hut up!_" Haruhi shouted, running up to pound her fists into both of their heads. "That's enough out of you two; it's fine to have an argument, but don't bring other people into your mess!"

She snatched the doll from Kaoru and tossed it to me, clearly already tired of looking at such a stupid object. I narrowed my eyes at the both of them irritably. "Haruhi's right; stop being so childish," I sighed. "You guys are arguing over something so insignificant that it's not even funny."

They only stared blankly at the two of us, which made me even more agitated. Our words seemed to have flown over their heads. "Fine, then!" I huffed. "If you don't make up and say sorry to each other this instant, you can forget about me and Haruhi letting you into _either_ of our houses!"

Silence ensued for a few long seconds before the twins' wide-eyed expressions began to lessen. The two looked back and forth between me and Haruhi, and after we stared right back at them with stern expressions, identical grins slowly began to creep up onto their faces.

"Uh," I muttered as my thoughts changed to ones of confusion. What did they have up their sleeves this time?

Hikaru and Kaoru stood up right in front of us, and their smug expressions didn't change in the slightest. They began their question in unison. "So what you're saying is—"

"—if we make up,—"

"—you _will _allow us to come to your houses?" Kaoru finished.

After Haruhi and I turned to look at each other with distorted expressions on our faces, I slowly turned the doll on its back, and Haruhi's eyes began to widen in both anger and shock. "What," she huffed.

Kaoru had written two Japanese characters on the piece of wood in black marker, but they didn't spell out Hikaru's name. Instead, very clearly, it spelled out another word: Blank.

"You two are dead," I muttered lowly, shooting Hikaru and Kaoru an expression that nearly made them run for their lives.

"Hika-chan, Kao-chan, was this really all a joke?" Hani asked as he eyed the mischievous pair with a stern expression.

The two let out a series of laughs before Hikaru grabbed Kaoru by the waist so that they could hold each other in a romantic manner. My eyes became half-lidded in exhaustion and annoyance as their scheme sunk in; so much that I didn't pay any mind to whatever act they were trying to pull off at the moment.

"Hikaru," Kaoru sighed, looking up at his twin with an apologetic passion in his eyes. "I'm so sorry that I said those things to you. I know I was only following your script, but—"

"Hush now, Kaoru," Hikaru replied as he lifted the other's chin. "It's alright. I know you didn't mean a word of it, and neither did I."

They continued on like this the next day in front of all of the guests, who seemed to be rejoicing in relief for half-hours on end.

Kyouya turned to me with an amused expression. "Confused, Hiroshi?"

"What are they even doing?" I asked, rolling my eyes as they proceeded in making physically affectionate gestures towards each other.

"Oh, I don't believe we've offered you an explanation about the types within the host club."

"What do you mean by types?"

Kyouya shifted his gaze forward pensively and let out a sigh. "It's already been a few months since you've joined as well," he muttered, pushing his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose. "I apologize. Tamaki?"

"It would be my pleasure," Tamaki said, resting his elbow onto my shoulder. "We owe you a bit of story time! Each member within the host club possesses a set of personality traits that draw certain customers; it's the variation that makes us popular," he explained in an attempt to clear my confusion.

"Take Mori-senpai, for example," he continued, pointing to the host he'd referenced. "He's the wild type, and in contrast, Hani-senpai is the boy lolita. Hikaru and Kaoru are popular among guests who are entertained by the michievous type, so this is what they're known for. Acts of forbidden brotherly love are their specialty!"

"Uh, I see that," I replied awkwardly. "Alright, what about Haruhi?"

"The natural type, of course. Just look at that smile and those big brown eyes!" he sighed dreamily. "My little girl is the cutest!"

After clearling his throat, he motioned to Kyouya. "He's the cool type. Self explanatory, if you ask me," he declared proudly. "And as for me? Why, I'm the princely type."

The flamboyant blond tilted my chin up towards his face and put on another charming smile. "Careful not to go falling for me!"

"Real funny, Tamaki-senpai," I muttered, smacking his hand away.

He still leaned over with a goofy expression so that his face was still directly in front of mine. "Can you not?" I asked blankly, raising an eyebrow at him. "Personal bubble here."

"You moron," Kyouya began with a slightly agitated tone of voice, pulling Tamaki a little farther away from me by his shoulder. "I'm sure that our cosplay designer doesn't appreciate being treated like a toy."

Tamaki turned around to see Kyouya's bitter glare and let out a gasp. "Mommy?" he squeaked out.

He quickly ran over to another group of guests before he could be stared at in such a manner any longer.

I turned around to see that Tamaki wasn't exaggerating; Kyouya did look pretty hostile for a second there. Once his facial expression then changed back to a cordial smile, he pushed up his glasses and turned towards me once again. "I apologize."

"It's alright, Senpai," I laughed halfheartedly. "I could've taken care of it, you know."

After a few seconds of keeping his gaze on me, he chuckled and went to join Tamaki's group of guests as well.

"So," Hikaru and Kaoru began simultaneously, walking over so that they were directly in front of me. "Looks like you've captured Kyouya-senpai's attention."

"Seemed like someone was a little jealous over Boss's flirtatiousness," Hikaru giggled.

"I don't even know what you guys are talking about," I muttered, wondering if Kyouya was still in earshot. "He was just trying to make sure I was comfortable as a designer for you guys."

"Whatever you say, Hiroshi!"

"I'm not kidding!"

The host club was open for business the following day as well. The customers' squeals and boy-crazy gawking over were still louder than usual, given that the twins were finally continuing with their acts. The Which One is Hikaru game was especially popular at this time now that distinguishing the two was much easier.

"Um… the twin with the blue hair is Kaoru, and the one with the pink hair is Hikaru!" one guest declared.

The twins flashed identical smiles and threw their hands up into the air. "We have a winner!" they exclaimed simultaneously as the rest of the guests in their vicinity began to clap.

"Oh, it's much easier to tell you two apart," the guest smiled in relief. "Are you going to keep your wild hair colors?"

"Hm, actually," I began once I'd walked over to see what was going on. Haruhi turned to face me as I chuckled. "The one with the pink hair is Kaoru today."

"And I thought I was the only one who noticed," Haruhi replied as she stared pensively at both him and Hikaru.

"Swapped your hair colors for today, huh?" I asked.

After a few long seconds of silence and no response from the two of them, Haruhi and I shrugged at each other, wondering if they'd continue to give their customers the wrong information. As she walked back over to her own group of customers, I headed back towards the table to continue with my sketches, and I began to wonder if it was really so difficult to tell them apart.

* * *

_**Third Person**_

"Hikaru," Kaoru began, staring at Hiroshi and Haruhi as they walked in their opposite directions.

"What is it?"

"You do realize that they're the first—"

"I know," Hikaru cut in.

Kaoru continued to stare at the other two with a ponderous expression, and he spoke up once again after a long pause. "Without only guessing," he muttered.


	5. They're Growing on Me

— _Chapter 05 _—

**_They're Growing On Me_**

* * *

Sometimes, it seemed like the only reason I didn't mind biology was because it was the last subject of our school day. I worked hard to get the grade I needed to maintain the scholarship, of course, but I didn't necessarily enjoy it. At least I still managed to be ranked in the top ten percentile; I was satisfied.

Things weren't so bad, anyways. Given that Haruhi, Hikaru, and Kaoru were also first years, they were in my class as well.

Hikaru yawned loudly, causing Sasaki-sensei's eyes to flicker in his direction in the midst of her frog dissection demonstration.

"Maybe if you improved your posture a bit, you'd be able to stay awake, Hikaru-kun," she laughed quietly. "You'll need to pay close attention for this particular assignment. As I was saying, you cannot be afraid to push the knife through; hold it firmly like so," she explained, splitting the slimy amphibian's belly open.

I refused to look. The mere thought of her taking such an action made my stomach feel as though it were turning inside out. A queasy feeling like this explained my curiosity about a surgeon's ability to keep calm.

Sasaki-sensei finished the demonstration in a short amount of time and disposed of her materials with ease. "I suppose it's time to get together with your lab partners, then. I recommend that one partner does the dirty work and the other records data and sketches. Let's get started, shall we?"

"Which one do you prefer?" Hikaru asked, turning towards me with a bit of nervousness in his voice.

"I uh," I began shakily, picking up the paper and my pencil. "I'm really sorry, Hikaru," I gulped, giving him a pat on the shoulder as we headed over to get supplies.

"So I take it that you want me to do the dissection?" he laughed. "You're the artist here. Guess you can do the sketching."

After Sasaki-sensei made sure that all of us were wearing our goggles and disposable gloves properly, we shrugged our lab coats into place.

Hikaru chuckled for a bit and then sighed before I looked up towards him.

"What?" I asked.

"Now if only Kyouya-senpai was here to protect you," he giggled, poking my forehead with his rubber-covered fingertip.

I smacked his hand away and rolled my eyes. "Kyouya-senpai isn't even in our grade," I stated blankly despite my uneasy expression. "Sure makes sense for him to be in our class, Hikaru."

"And that's why it's called a daydream."

"Real funny."

"Okay," he laughed. "Don't be surprised if you find yourself falling for that cool exterior one day."

I raised an eyebrow and looked back towards our lab bench, but I'd immediately jumped once a light clink sounded. A metal tray was set down before us, complete with tweezers, a sharp blade, a few pins, and a dead frog.

Before I knew it, Hikaru was already pinning the limbs down, seemingly more calm about it than I expected him to be. "You can't exactly look away if you're the one doing the sketching," he said, motioning lightly towards my pencil.

"Ah, right," I said, picking up my drawing utencil and holding it to the paper with the shakiest hands in the world.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to manage the simple task of getting the lead to move smoothly across the paper and it wound up being a scribbled mess. The scent of the frog's bodily fluids didn't exactly help.

"Hiroshi?" Hikaru asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry," I breathed out frustratedly. "Just continue. I'll keep sketching."

"Not sure you can continue if your hands are so..." his voice trailed off as my arms and legs began to get weaker, and my vision began to blur.

Hikaru's eyes widened and his arm was outstretched in my direction, but it was a little too late at that point; my vision continued to darken my ability to stand abandoned me little by little.

Everything went black.

* * *

"Thank goodness, you're awake," my mom smiled once my eyes were halfway open.

"Uh," I began, peering at my surroundings once my vision was a little clearer. After I took in the modern design of the room and the dimmed lighting, I thought for a few seconds before things began to fall into place. They must have taken me to the local hospital after the frog dissection incedent.

"How long was I out for?" I asked as my mom continued embrace me with tears welling up in her eyes.

"Since the end of the school day yesterday," she sniffled. "I'm so glad you're alright. I just might have to write a letter to the Academy about this!"

I laughed halfheartedly and hugged her back with the bit of strength I had at the time. "It isn't their fault; my stomach has never been the strongest."

"Haruhi and Ranka were worried sick about you," she continued. "Haruhi slept by your side for half of the night, and then Ranka told her that she could visit in the morning and brought her home. They even brought flowers," she said, gesturing to the bouquet of assorted perennials in the corner.

"Oh, gosh," I sighed slowly lifting my hand to my forehead.

Mom gently stopped my wrist before it could get there, however. "Don't mess with your stitches," she cautioned.

I started to feel a bit of pain in that area once she'd mentioned it. Had I really hit my head on the table with that much force?

A light knock sounded on the door before one of the doctors stepped forward with a smile on his face. "You have visitors, Miss Katou. Are you feeling well enough for them to come in?"

"Visitors?" I asked, propping myself up just a little.

"Yes, seven of them," he replied nervously. "I originally planned on not allowing a few at a time, but they promised to be quiet. As long as I have your permission, I'll let them in."

"You don't mean... ah, sheesh," I laughed halfheartedly. They probably wanted to check if I was still breathing, so I gave a little nod to the two of them, and my mom said she'd leave for a bit so that they'd have time alone with me.

The doctor stuck his head back out of the room and gave a little nod just as I did, and a little squeal sounded from behind the wall.

"What did they tell you about being quiet?" Haruhi whispered roughly.

Haruhi's eyes widened and she walked over to me as soon as she stepped foot into the room. She tried to embrace me as gently as possible before straightening her posture to look at me again. "Are you okay? You feeling any better?"

"I'm alright, I'm alright," I smiled, embracing her back. "You didn't have to spend half of the night here, Haruhi; you must be exhausted... I really appreciate it, but you need your rest, too."

"You're telling me this when you're the one with a gash in your head," she muttered, peering at my forehead. "You're the one who needs rest here."

"Hiro-chan!" Hani whispered excitedly alongside Mori, who gave me a small smile and a "hmm" of approval.

"How is our little Hiroshi?!" Tamaki asked a little more loudly than he should have, inducing an eye-narrowing from Haruhi.

For some reason, the sight of all of them standing in front of me gave me a bit of warmth that I couldn't quite explain the source of. I tried to keep the corner of my mouth flatlined, but it failed me and I wound up smiling shyly. "Hi, everyone," I laughed quietly.

"Hikaru told us about what happened," Kaoru said. "We're glad you're alive and breathing. Really, Ouran might need to put little plastic protectors on the corners of the lab benches. Those things are unnecessarily sharp for some reason," he sighed.

"Nice job on the sketching, though," Hikaru laughed. "Sasaki-sensei still gave us a high mark on the assignment."

"I'm really sorry I couldn't come to the meeting yesterday. The sketches are done; I just need to—"

"Apologizing after you've just knocked yourself out, I see," Kyouya sighed, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "We're more concerned about your well-being than cosplay designs at the moment, Hiroshi."

"We brought something so that you might feel a little better," Hani-senpai beamed, rushing over to my side with a cake box.

"Open it! Open it!" Hikaru and Kaoru chanted.

I took the cover off to discover that the cake had lettering on it that read: "_Get better soon, Hiroshi!" _above all of their names, which were hand-signed with decorative sugar-gel._  
_

"We requested that each of us sign our own names," said Kaoru.

"Sorry it's sloppy, Hiro-chan," Hani sighed. "We were kind of arguing over who would sign it first."

"Well, Tamaki and the twins were, anyways," Kyouya added on, motioning to the three of them.

"Did _not!_" they whined.

"We didn't know or remember what your favorite flavor was, so we went with Hani-senpai's suggestion and bought strawberry shortcake."

"Her favorite flavor is red velvet," Haruhi stated blankly.

The twins' eyes widened. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"I was practically screaming it, but you guys were too busy fighting over who'd sign the cake first," she huffed in return.

"We shall go and buy a red velvet cake, then," Tamaki said majestically after the three of them let out a gasp.

I couldn't help but break out into a laugh. I wasn't sure if it was Tamaki's flamboyance or the fact that such an argument was even taking place, but all of it was too amusing for me to keep a straight face.

"Hiroshi? You alright?" asked Kaoru.

"You guys are crazy," I snorted with a shy smile on my face.

"Do you not like it, Hiro-chan?" Hani wondered.

"Are you kidding?" I asked as my eyes widened. "The type of cake doesn't even matter! I'm just... I'm just happy that you all even thought of visiting me. Thank you; thank you all so much," I smiled. "You didn't have to do all of this."

"Well, we wanted you to feel better after getting that gash in your forehead," Kaoru said in a matter-of-factly tone of voice.

"Right," Mori agreed.

"You're our designer, too; have you forgotten? You think we'd want you dead?" Hikaru laughed. "There's no doubt that we'd all be worried about you."

All of these kind words induced the bit of warmth and happiness spreading throughout me once again, and to my surprise, a choked-up feeling began to overtake my throat and I had to make a conscious effort not to allow it to go any further. I didn't want to be a big cry-baby about this. "Anyone want a bite?" I asked, pulling out the plastic fork provided with the package.

Hani eagerly complied and even offered to hold the cake box himself so that I wouldn't have to.

"Hiroshi, if it's not too much trouble, wouldn't now be a good time to recommend a few commoners games?" Tamaki asked eagerly.

Kyouya smacked the back of his head. "Because Hiroshi's obviously feeling well enough to do so," he sighed sarcastically.

"Kick the Can?" I chuckled, peering over at Haruhi.

"Funny," Haruhi said, raising an eyebrow at me. "You need your rest. What about the food game? Things are more interesting when there are more people."

"Tell us about it," the twins said simultaneously.

"Okay," Haruhi started. "We try to figure out which kind of food a person would be based on their personality and appearance. You don't really need any skills for it, so I'm not sure if you can really classify it as a game."

"Let's try it anyway," Hani giggled. "Sounds fun."

Haruhi nodded and turned to look towards the twins. "Hikaru and Kaoru, you two are fortune cookies."

"Fortune cookies?" they replied.

"On the outside, they're practically the same. The fortunes inside have similarities, too, like the kind of paper and the font of the words. The fortunes themselves are different, however."

Hani puffed his cheeks up and clutched onto Usa-chan. "What about me?"

I raised an eyebrow, wondering if the answer wasn't obvious enough. "You're a cake," I half-laughed.

Hani beamed in reply. "My favorite! Why do you say so?"

"Appearance-wise, given that you're the lolita-type, you're very cute and sweet. Your personality is sweet as well, and to top it off, you very much enjoy eating cake."

"Hm, it's true! Thanks, Hiro-chan," Hani giggled in reply.

"Then I pick Tamaki-senpai," Kaoru interjected. "He should be jello blob."

"Why jello?" Tamaki asked, stroking his chin and clearly intrigued by such a thought.

"Because you like to bounce up and down whenever you're, ah, enthused. Especially when you're having your shoujo fantasies about a certain person in our club—"

"I do not!" Tamaki interjected, pouting and beginning to bend and straighten his legs slightly.

"You're doing it right now, boss!" Hikaru and Kaoru laughed simultaneously.

Tamaki frowned and crossed his arms. "Hmph. Alright, well, I choose Kyouya. If Hani-senpai's a cake because he's the lolita type, then Kyouya's a popcicle because he's the cool type. Ice-cold on both the interior and the exterior."

Everyone pondered the thought for just a bit before I raised an eyebrow. "Nice try, senpai, but I'd have to say he's a maki roll," I said.

"Sushi?" Kyouya asked, peering over at me.

After a few long seconds, I was able to clear my mind and offer my explanation. "You're not entirely ice-cold, Kyouya-senpai; you've got a lot of good qualities, too," I said.

A few more long seconds passed, and he pushed his glasses up. "Hm," he muttered, reaching into his jacket. "Maybe... I do seem like a sushi roll at times."

I was able to keep my cool until he slowly began to pull out his black notebook. The mere thought of him writing down the fact that he's a sushi roll had me reaching up to cover my smile. I tried turning down the corners of my mouth, but I snorted and ended up failing to hide my laughter.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Kyouya-senpai, you're being way too serious about this."

I managed to glimpse at Kyouya during my laughing spasm. I could see his blank expression beginning to transition into a grin of amusement.

"Then you're pocky," he said, allowing his expression to become more of a collected one.

"Huh?" I asked.

I didn't quite see how I resembled a pocky stick, physically _or_ personality wise.

"If your explanation doesn't have to make complete sense, then neither does mine; it was the first food that came to mind," Kyouya said. "Which is odd; I don't particularly care for sweets."

I allowed my eyes to become half-lidded in confusion. My explanation did make sense.

"Wait, so if Kyouya-senpai is sushi and you're pocky sticks," the twins whispered to me.

My eyes widened. The last thing I needed was a dumb catch phrase. They already teased me enough about Kyouya as it was. "Guys," I began, narrowing my eyes at them.

"_Sushi and pocky sticks!_"

The rest of them turned their heads toward the two of them, surprised by their sudden outburst. The doctor even had to peek inside to make sure that everything was alright.

I sighed and closed my eyes, hoping that the joke wouldn't catch on.

Until they said their goodbyes and walked out to allow me to rest more, I hadn't noticed that their weird jokester tendencies were a big distractor from the aches and pains. Despite the fact that all of them can be clowns when placed in a single room together, I was glad to be part of such a group.

The nice feeling reversed momentarily once my phone began to beeped, and I flipped it open to see a text from Kaoru.

It read, "_You better get plenty of rest! P.S. __It's officially an inside joke. __Sushi and pocky sticks, got it?_"


	6. Jungle Pool SOS

— _Chapter 06 _—

_**Jungle Pool SOS**_

* * *

Students bustled through the hallways once the final bell of the day rang, and I made my way towards the exit, somewhat relieved that the hosts wouldn't be having a meeting today. Not that I didn't like being around them, but I had too many other things to do for the time being. Homework and chores took up the bulk of the list.

I walked the exit of the north wing, glad that it was sunnier than it had been in a while. The laundry would probably dry quickly and I'd have more time to study for my exams.

Before I could step off of the curb, a limo pulled up right in front of me and I jumped back. "What the heck," I muttered, staring suspiciously at the window to see Kaoru.

"Pocky-chan!" he called out as the window began to roll down.

"Can you not?" I sighed.

I could see identical mischievous grins on the twins' faces once the window was rolled down completely.

"I'm not sure what you guys are up to, and I don't think I wanna know," I said, raising an eyebrow to the both of them.

"Just get in!" they shouted in unison, slamming the door open and pulling me inside. Without warning, the limo took off.

"Pretty sure that this qualifies as kidnapping!" I huffed, propping myself up in one of the seats as I peered around at the seven familiar faces. "Where are we even going, and for how long? I had plans, you know."

"I've been telling them the same thing," Haruhi said, looking sternly upon the rest of the host club before taking a seat next to me.

"Just relax," Kyouya said, holding out a flyer. "We're visiting a medical rehabilitation facility owned by the Ootori Group."

"A water park?" Haruhi and I asked at the same time, taking a peek at the unfolded brochure.

"Isn't it that kind of an insult?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked simultaneously.

It took about an hour of random conversation, five-minute naps, and Kyouya scribbling in his black book for us to reach the destination.

"I think we're here!" Hani beamed as the limo pulled into somewhat of a secluded entrance.

All of us stepped outside and entered the seemingly oversized building through what looked like more of a back entrance. A wave of warmth hit my face before I was able to take in my surroundings completely.

"Whoa, this is insane," I muttered to myself as my eyes darted around the area.

It was like Hawaii and the Amazon combined into one that went on for miles; the enormous dome-shaped ceiling was convincing enough in terms of looking like an actual sky. I didn't even know that technology was so advanced; maybe it was made from some sort of clear fiberglass.

"This place is so neat, Kyou-chan!" Hani gasped, tossing his shirt to the side and jogging over to the humungous pool of sparkling water and sticking his arm in. "The water's perfect, too; come on over, Takashi!"

"Be careful of the current, now, Hani-senpai," Kyouya cautioned as the rest of us made our way over to him.

"Hm, I didn't bring a swimsuit," I said to Haruhi. "Did you?"

Mischievous grins began to form on the twins' faces as they dashed over to me and Haruhi. "What the heck are you guys doing?!" Haruhi and I shouted as the two dragged us into a trailer.

"Don't worry," Hikaru and Kaoru said. "Our maids will resolve your issue."

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Stop asking questions and just change into swimsuits!" they ordered, pushing us into a set of twin girls dressed in maid uniforms.

"Good evening, ladies. Feel free to choose from the selection of swimsuits we have available."

"May we suggest this two-piece, Miss Katou? This detail on the top helps to hide the fact that you don't have much of a chest,"

I sighed, quickly slipped into it, and took a look in the mirror alongside Haruhi.

"Eh," she sighed irritably.

"Do we really have to wear these?" I asked as one of the maids tossed me a matching cover-up.

They only giggled before shoving us back outside. "Have fun," they said in unison, shutting the door in our faces.

Hikaru and Kaoru gasped once they caught sight of us. "_How_ _cute!_" they exclaimed, dashing over to us and squeezing us half to death.

"Get off!" Haruhi shouted as I roughly pushed them away. The situation probably couldn't get much more uncomfortable, but at least we had swimwear.

Tamaki appeared to be bright red. "Haruhi, it is not appropriate for a young lady to dress this way until after she's married. Please put this on instead," he pleaded, hold out a yellow short-sleeved hoodie and a pair of shorts for her.

"You too, Hiroshi!" he continued. "I do not approve of my little girls wearing such things."

"So I'm your daughter now, too?" I sighed. "And calm down. I'm already putting on the cover-up that Hikaru's and Kaoru's maids gave to me."

All of us made our way back to the swimming area.

"You've got some expression on your face, Kyouya-senpai," Hikaru declared blatantly. "You sure Pocky-chan hasn't caught your eye yet?"

"Stop calling me that!" I exclaimed, narrowing my eyes at him.

I was on the verge of swearing to them that I'd beat their faces in. Kyouya didn't respond for a little while after Hikaru's stupid joke; his eyes only seemed to move up and down as he stared at me.

"Can you not?" I muttered irritably for the second time that day, making more of a conscious effort to ensure that nothing was exposed in any way.

Kyouya reverted his attention back to the twins. "Now don't be ridiculous, you two," he said.

"Come on, ya have to admit—"

"—she's really cute in that little two-piece,"

Kyouya only chuckled in reply.

Evil little smiles spread across the twins' faces as they saw my fists ball up at my sides.

"Team sushi and pocky sticks!" they laughing in unison.

"_Cut it out!_"

Fortunately, they laughed it off and changed the subject. "Haruhi! You wanna check out the huge water slide over there? It looks pretty awesome!"

"No thanks. I'm not one for water slides."

"Stop raining on our parade all the time and let's go!" they said, dragging her off arm-in-arm.

"Kyouya-senpai," I began.

He looked up from his black notebook and stared at me.

"Would you mind telling me what this place is again?"

"As I explained on the way here, this is a theme park owned by the Ootori group called the Tropical Aqua Garden."

"I thought you said that it was a medical rehabilitation facility."

"Technically, it's classified in that category. My family does specialize in hospital management, but they like to diversify every once in a while. After all," he began, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. "Think of people who are under a lot of pressure from work; they can come here and seek refuge to reduce their stress levels."

"So I'm guessing you had this place reserved for the us for today? It doesn't seem like anyone else is here."

"Actually, the park isn't supposed to open until about a month from now. I just put in a good word for us all to have permission to be here in advance. Being wealthy has its perks," he said, clearing his throat and pausing for a few seconds before continuing. "It has its disadvantages as well, however."

I opened my mouth to say something in reply, but I closed it right after. I assumed that he was probably referring to little inconveniences like having too much money on his hands at times.

"Hiro-chan! You wanna try some of this mango cake with Haru-chan and I?" Hani asked.

"I'll try some with you later!" I called out.

After smiling cheekily, he ran off and jumped into the current pool with a pink lifesaver around him. It still confused me as to how tiny and adorable he was for a high school student. I still had no idea how he managed to look like he attended elementary school.

"Look, Takashi!" he giggled.

Mori-senpai couldn't help but crack a smile as he gazed at Hani-senpai. He jumped in after him, and Hani ended up on his back as he swam against the current.

"No. I will not participate in such an activity," Tamaki said sternly as he narrowed his eyes at Hikaru and Kaoru. "Water gun fights are childish."

The twins smirked at his response to their offer. "Haruhi, I think it's about time we got married. And then we can honeymoon in a hot spring in Atami," sighed Kaoru as he grabbed onto Haruhi's hand.

"Then I call Hiroshi," Hikaru continued. "We'll spend the rest of our lives together without Tamaki-senpai," he bragged with his hands placed at my waist from behind.

I pinched his hand as hard as I could and pulled it up.

"_Gyaaahhhhh!_" he screamed.

"Nice try," I said blankly, smacking the top of his head so that he wouldn't try to pull something like that again.

Tamaki suddenly began to pump his water gun full. "There's no way I'll let you two marry my little girls! Daddy says… _no!_"

The water gun battle between him and the twins ensued. Of course, Tamaki-senpai gradually got too tired to chase after the twins for a while, and the three of them collapsed in exhaustion.

Suddenly, the current in the pool began to speed up so quickly that we could actually hear the rush of the waves; they were going at a much faster rate than before.

"Hani-senpai!" I shouted once I caught sight of him struggling to hold on to the edge.

"WAAAAHHHHH!" he screamed, unable to swim against it any longer.

I ran over and made an attempt to jump into the current after him, but Kyouya grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me back before I could do so. "You know that'd be dangerous, don't you?" he sighed, giving me a weird look.

"Hani-senpai's in trouble, if you haven't noticed!" I exclaimed, pulling my wrist away.

"Everyone, let's head _this_ way!" Tamaki lead us in the direction of another current pool.

"Wait!" Kyouya called out, "I wouldn't go there if I were you—"

"GYAAAHHHH!" we shouted in unison, realizing why Kyouya had cautioned us.

There were alligators everywhere. It seemed that no matter which direction we headed in, there were alligators right in front of us. In a panic, however, we somehow managed to find a safe route in order to outrun them, and they backed out into the water again.

"Kyouya-senpai, what was _that_ about?" Haruhi asked, breathing heavily.

"I'm assuming those alligators were from the theme park's tropical animals exhibit. I guess it's not safe to let them run wild," Kyouya replied casuaully, as if it were nothing at all to be worried about. He scribbled something down in his black notebook before he continued. "As for Hani-senpai, his predicament seems to have been caused by the switch in direction of the current pool. Looks like I'll need to have a chat with the designers."

He paused to look at us, and then smiled innocently. "Thanks a lot, you guys! I got some great data today."

"You _what?!_" we exclaimed angrily in unison.

My estimate of the area's size were correct according to the map Kyouya walked over to. He traced a path on the map of where the current would eventually stop. "This is going to be a bit tricky. We'll need to make it through the jungle area here in the southern block. I'm estimating about an eight-hundred-meter walk from here to where the current stops."

I puffed up my cheeks and wiped my forehead with the back of my arm. "Let's be on our way, then."

We made our way through a nonexistent path in the jungle area, unsure about whether to be amazed at our surroundings or wary of them.

"Whoa, this place is like an actual jungle! It even has all of the animal noises to go along with it," Kaoru exclaimed, looking at what surrounded us.

Kyouya pushed his glasses up as he continued to walk along with us. "Just so that you're aware, I think that the noises are coming from the actual thing."

"So the animals are _real?_"

"Well, my family does strive for authenticity no matter what the cost is," Kyouya replied.

_Wasn't this the guy who said he didn't let his wealth go down a drain?_

I felt a single drop fall on my shoulder, and then another on my hand. It wasn't long before it began to drizzle.

"Oh," Kyouya sighed, peeking at his watch. "It must be time for the squall."

All of us ran for cover under a small hut before the rain began to pour.

Mori wore a dismal expression on his face as he stared into the distance and propped his elbow on a ledge.

"Hey Mori-senpai," Haruhi began. "I'm sure Hani-senpai is okay. We'll find him."

"It seems like you two have a special connection," I said. "Are you childhood friends or something?"

"You mean you don't know?" Hikaru asked. "Mori-senpai and Hani-senpai are cousins."

My eyes widened a little. "They're related?" I asked.

"The Morinozukas have served the Haninozukas for a very long time," Hikaru began.

Kaoru continued. "Two generations ago, the families became related by marriage, and the servant relationship became a thing of the past not too long after."

"However," Tamaki sighed, "Mori-senpai has always made it his duty to accompany Haninozuka. Ah, the will of a loyal servant."

The twins looked like chibi characters with tears running down their cheeks right after Tamaki's statement. "Oh, this is such a beautiful story!"

Not too long after their sob-fest, Kyouya and I looked around the hut and then towards each other with confusion. "Where'd Haruhi and Mori-senpai go?" I asked.

"What? Haruhi's missing! _Daddy's coming to save you!_" Tamaki called out, running into the rain as Hikaru and Kaoru followed closely behind.

"Hey, wait! Why don't you just wait for the rain to stop?!" I shouted, hoping that they'd hear me and come back. We didn't need more people to go missing. Unfortunately, my voice was drowned out.

Kyouya sighed. "Those morons."

As the rain continued to pour, he turned around to look back towards me. "So Hiroshi."

"What is it?" I asked.

"I believe I heard something about you and Hikaru getting married," he replied.

"Oh, that?" I laughed. "He and Kaoru were just saying those things to irritate Tamaki-senpai. I guess a water gun fight was so important to them."

"I see," he muttered shortly in a way that made me question his mood.

"I hope mom is doing alright. I already called her on the way here. She didn't mind having to do the laundry, but maybe I can check in on her."

"No need to worry. I called her while we were still in the swimming area," Kyouya replied. "She's doing well. I didn't want to make us look inconsiderate."

"Oh, alright," I nodded. And then my eyes snapped towards him again. "Hey, wait," I began, "How do you have my mom's phone number?"

"I have my ways."

I raised an eyebrow at him. This guy was in everyone's business all the time, wasn't he.

I was expecting a mischievous grin from him, but his mouth was similar to a flat line. "You're very fortunate to have a caring mother. It's clear that she loves you very much, Hiroshi."

"It's true," I smiled. "She can be over-protective sometimes, but I guess it's because..." I began. My voice trailed off as my lips formed into an uneasy smile. "Well, I've never met my dad."

Kyouya turned to look at me.

"He left before I was born," I continued. "And he didn't leave my mom a way to contact him. I'm not sure what we'd do if she wasn't such a strong person."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Hiroshi," Kyouya replied.

"Oh, I've already told it a million times before. No worries," I shrugged. "It's been kind of hard for Mom, but we manage to make ends meet. We're a good team," I laughed.

After realizing that I'd just given a personal piece of information to Kyouya, I figured I'd ask about his family while we were at it.

"What about your parents, Kyouya-senpai? What are they like?"

After a few long seconds of hesitation, he spoke up. "There's not much to know about them. Or, just my father, for the matter."

"So your mom..."

There wasn't any response for quite a while, but I knew that he heard me. The situation dawned on me just then.

"I didn't mean to be intrusive, Kyouya-senpai," I said quietly. "I'm really sorry."

He exhaled with a more causual on his face when he turned to look at me. After he let out another sigh, he reached up to brush some hair out of my face. "Your gash has healed nicely," he said.

I gulped and pulled away for a bit. "Yes, it feels a lot better," I replied.

The rain slowly came to a stop, and the way the dome portrayed the sky made it into a glowing a mix of sunset shades.

"Kyouya! Hiroshi! Look who we found!" Tamaki shouted, walking towards us with the twins, Haruhi, Mori and Hani. "Let's head back now, shall we?"

* * *

"We should go to the beach next! Whaddaya think, Haru-chan?" Hani asked, sitting on Mori's shoulders as he oftentimes did.

"Yeah, I'm not so into water parks like these. But I do like the ocean," Haruhi replied.

"Wanna come with us too, Hiro-chan?"

"Really? I mean… no, I couldn't possibly do that,"

"You're coming with us, and that's final," Kyouya said in a casual tone of voice once again.

"But—"

I shut my mouth and sighed. I guess they'd take me to the beach whether I liked it or not, even if it meant kidnapping me again.

Hani-senpai giggled. "Come on, Hiro-chan! It'll be really fun!"

His baby-faced smile was enough to give me one last convincing push. "I guess it will," I half-laughed.

I had to admit that I was excited about going on a trip to the beach. Mom and I never went on many of those in the past; we were always too busy. With people like these, I was looking forward to seeing how things would turn out.


	7. The Sun, The Sea, and the Host Club

— _Chapter 07 _—

_**The Sun, The Sea, and The Host Club**_

* * *

It was really interesting to see the city of Tokyo from high above. Several squares of building rooftops seemed to fit together perfectly, and the higher we were, the more the seas of people looked like microscopic dots that eventually disappeared below the clouds.

"Did you bring any sunscreen, Tama-chan?" Hani asked, turning his attention from the window towards Tamaki.

"Why of course!" the flamboyant blond yelped in reply. "How else would I be able to protect my skin from the sun's rays?" he asked, standing up to showcase the beauty he believed he had.

"Tamaki, sit down. The jet hasn't risen to the appropriate elevation for you to do that yet," Kyouya said, pulling his friend back to the seat beside him.

"Hm," I muttered as I rummaged through my bag.

"What's the matter, Hiro-chan?"

"I didn't pack sunscreen. But I guess it's alright. I don't think I get sunburned easily," I replied.

"So which beach are we going to, Kyouya-senpai?" Haruhi asked.

"My family owns a private beach along with a villa in Hokkaido."

Hikaru and Kaoru only stared curiously at him before responding. "But why can't we go somewhere like Fiji or the Caribbean?" they asked simultaneously.

I shot them a weird look. A private beach in Hokkaido was going to be the nicest vacation spot I'd ever been to. It bothered me a little that I had to take their preferences into consideration to explain my confusion.

Kyouya took a second to push his glasses up. "Do you honestly think that people like Haruhi and Hiroshi have passports?"

_These freaking rich people._

* * *

I opened my eyes slowly, wondering how long I'd been asleep since I lied down next to Haruhi on the beach. A gentle warm breeze passed by soon thereafter. I sat up, rubbing my eyes and seeing that beyond the umbrella's circle of shade shade was soft, white sand. Sparkling blue waves continuously hit the shoreline, and, past the other frolicking hosts, I could see a boulder that was just big enough for several people to sit on.

Squinting my eyes to clear up my vision a little more, I could make out two people seated right beside each other on top of it: Tamaki and a starry-eyed guest. I was in earshot just enough to understand what they were saying.

"Tamaki, being with you here and just staring out into the ocean is like a dream," she told him shyly.

The flamboyant blond stared directly into her eyes with a charming smile. "My dear, if I could have my way, I'd be in your dreams every night."

"Oh, Tamaki," she smiled and blushed madly as he pressed his forehead to hers.

About fifteen other guests squealed in delight, standing in a single-file line beside the boulder, and Kyouya stepped in front of them, flipping his notebook open once more. "Your ten minutes with Tamaki are over at the moment, miss," he said, looking up towards the pair. "Will the next lady in line please come forward?" he asked, motioning to the girl in front of him.

I could only stare blankly at him in spite of my shock; he really did decide to bring all of the guests along on the trip, didn't he?

"Kaoru, wait for me!" Hikaru laughed.

"I can't help it! It's rolling away too fast!" Kaoru giggled in reply as his twin continued to chase after a large beach ball alongside him. Of course, their frolicking and simultaneous laughter induced even more dreamy sighs from the other guests.

It's not like I could really blame them. The place was beautiful, after all; it only made sense for them to feel even more entranced in such a circumstance.

"You're kidding," Haruhi said once I turned to the side to face her.

She rolled her eyes after catching sight of Tamaki romancing yet another one of his guests.

I let out a laugh. "I never thought I'd say this, but you've gotta admit that spending time on such a nice beach almost makes up for their shenanigans, right?"

"I guess so," Haruhi snorted in reply.

I could hear some guests whispering behind us, so it was difficult not to turn around and stare. "Do you think Hiroshi and Haruhi like each other?" one of them whispered.

Another guest let out a sad sigh that almost guaranteed a pout. "Hmm, I guess they do look cute together," she whispered.

I'd nearly turned around to giggle at them in amusement, but I quickly remembered that Haruhi was an attractive male host in their eyes, and I relaxed again.

"Haruhi? Hiroshi? Do you mind if we sit with you two?" the first guest asked shyly as she walked over with the two others.

Haruhi stared right up at them with her big brown eyes and allowed a warm smile to cross her face. "Hm, but why? You girls have such cute swimsuits on. You should go and swim; have a good time while we're here."

The girls became moony-eyed, and for a second there I thought I could see twirling hearts above their heads. "Um, okay, we'll see you later!" they giggled before walking off.

I couldn't help but let out another laugh as soon as they were far enough away. "It's kind of weird seeing you sweet-talking other girls, especially since you seem to be really good at it," I began, peeking around and leaning in to whisper. "Well, for being one yourself."

She shrugged in reply. "How else am I going to pay off my debt?" she asked before taking a few gulps from her water bottle.

Hani began to rush towards us while struggling to hold up his pink floaty. "Haru-chan! Hiro-chan!" he called out with a giggle as we shifted our attention to him. "Will you please go hellfish shunting with me?"

Haruhi and I stood up after stretching to follow him.

"Don't you mean shellfish hunting, Hani-senpai?" Haruhi asked as Hani began to dig through the sand again. "I didn't think that shellfish even existed in Hokkaido."

Suddenly, she peered down at the ground and jumped up with a yelp. "What the heck!" she shouted as her eyes began to widen even more.

I raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?" I asked, shifting my attention to our surroundings. It was then that I jumped up with a yelp as well. "Where did these even come from?!" I shouted after seeing that we were suddenly surrounded by crabs.

Looking around frantically, Haruhi and I managed to hop over a them and peeked over the rocks in front of us. There was an enormous truck parked below, out of which men were carrying large containers of various crustaceans.

Kyouya was standing right next to it when he looked up at us. "May I help you?" he asked loudly, so as to be heard over the rumbling of the truck.

"What exactly is going on?" I asked loudly in reply.

"My family owed Hani-senpai an apology after the tidal wave incident at our facility; he wanted shellfish, so we're bringing them to him personally. We had the Ootori family's private police force come here to do the job."

Haruhi raised an eyebrow and eyed the lobster beside us. She stepped back gingerly in hopes that it wouldn't take a jab at her foot. "I wonder if we'd be able to eat all of these for dinner," she said.

When she put it that way, a smile began to cross my face; freshly cooked seafood for a meal sounded great at the moment.

"Hey, Tamaki-senpai!" she called out towards him as he dug for shellfish as well. She waved him over. She flashed a cheery smile at him with a half-laugh. "Dinner's gonna be awesome!"

Tamaki seemed to melt at the sight of Haruhi's expression, and I could have sworn that I saw stars in his eyes once he'd rushed over to us. "Oh, Haruhi!" he exclaimed excitedly. "I'm so proud of my little girl!"

It came as a surprise that he was able to pick up such a huge crab with ease, and he turned to face Haruhi once more. "So tell me," he began with a charming expression, holding it a little closer to Haruhi's face. "Isn't this crab... crab-tivating?"

Trying to hold in a snicker at his bad pun, Haruhi gulped and shifted her attention elsewhere.

Suddenly, a tiny creature crawled out of one of the holes in the crab, and Tamaki jumped back with a particularly loud yelp, throwing the entire crab to the side.

He'd thrown it in such a way that it landed near a group of guests, and the smiles disappeared from their faces as soon as the bug crawled out once more. They let out a series of high-pitched screams as they stared in horror.

"Cen—"

"—ti—"

"—pede!"

Letting out a sigh, Haruhi remained expressionless as she walked over to toss the bug back at the rocks.

The customers rushed over to her and gasped in delight at the act of supposed heroism.

"Oh Haruhi, you're so manly," one guest sighed dreamily.

"And brave!"

"You're my hero, Haruhi!" they called out simultaneously.

Hikaru rested an elbow on Haruhi's shoulder as he raised an eyebrow at her. "You know, Haruhi, you didn't need to go that far," he yawned. "You could've hurt the poor little guy."

"It was a centipede. It takes a lot more than that to kill a bug."

Kaoru rested his elbow on Haruhi's other shoulder and eyed her with a ponderous expression. "Jeez, are you afraid of anything?" he asked.

She shrugged in reply. "Not really."

"Sure you aren't," Hikaru laughed.

They clearly didn't believe her, and they had reason not to. I've known about her fear of thunderstorms since the start of our friendship. I just wasn't dumb enough to say so; if they'd known about it, they may have pulled some sort of stupid prank on her.

* * *

The day seemed to pass by quickly since we'd done quite a bit of sightseeing. Tamaki and the twins were desperately trying to find out whether or not Haruhi was afraid of anything at all, and as a result, we traveled to lots of places along the beach. It was kind of amusing to see the twins go through so much effort and still have no clue as to what it was; they even made skeleton puppets when we'd walked over to the cove. Needless to say, their attempts were unsuccessful.

The sun began to set as we returned to the guests, and I joined a group of them atop one of the cliffs to take in the warm breeze at its fullest. It felt great.

"Haruhi! Look up here!" one guest shouted with a cheery smile.

"Yeah, why don't you join us?" I called out peering down at the others and motioning towards us.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, two unfamiliar-looking men began to make their way up, and I turned to look at them.

"Hey look, there are chicks up here!" one of them exclaimed with an eager expression on their faces.

Before I could do anything, one of them was close enough to grab hold of one of the customers, and he did just that.

"Wait! Let me go!" she shrieked as I stepped forward.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" I asked, narrowing my at the two and stepping further forward to grab a hold of the guests other arm. "Leave her alone. This is a private beach; you're not allowed here. I suggest you leave immediately."

The other allowed a mischievous grin to cross his face as he turned to look at me. "Oh, really? And who's gonna stop me?" he asked, grabbing onto my wrist before I could take a step back.

"_Get away!_" another guest shouted in the direction of the others as a call for help.

At that moment, another voice called out from behind them. "_Hey!_" it called out.

It was Haruhi; she'd thrown an entire bucket of pointy shellfish onto one man's back and sent a glare in his direction. "They told you to leave them alone."

After successfully shaking the crustaceans off of his back, his expression of rage quickly shifted back into one of mischief. "Who do you think you are, kid?" he asked, letting go of my wrist to take a step towards her.

"Quit it!" I shouted, grabbing the back of the man's shirt and throwing him to the ground with as much force as I could muster up. At least he wasn't able to reach Haruhi at that point in time.

His back seemed to be badly hurt at that point, and I looked in the direction of Tamaki and the twins in the distance. They wouldn't be able to hear me if I screamed at the top of my lungs if they were so far, and I made a mad dash to reach them.

Running across the sand was so much harder than running on solid ground, but I had to keep going.

"Gah! What should I do with these?!" I heard Tamaki shout, running across the beach after Hikaru and Kaoru with a bucket in his hands.

"_Stop!_" I shouted once I was sure to be within earshot. "Stop whatever you're doing and come help us! Haruhi and the others are in trouble!"

As soon as her name came out of my mouth, Tamaki froze for a good two seconds, and he sprinted towards the cliff with me and the twins trailing behind him. We reached them, and in a matter of moments, the twins had taken the two trespassers in an attempt to beat their heads in.

But it was too late at that point; Haruhi had been pushed down off of the cliff. I screamed out her name, but in a matter of seconds, Tamaki had dove off to swim after her.

* * *

The sun continued to set. I paced around the small area of the beach as we awaited their return, and the worry was only getting worse as it consumed me. Sitting down on the sand beside the others, I felt my heart beginning to plummet. What if the both of them had drowned at that point? Why were they taking so long?

I felt a small hand being placed gently on my back, and I turned my face to the side to see that Hani was standing right beside me. "We're worried too, Hiro-chan."

Once I shifted my gaze forward, a figure seemed to be making its way towards us from the water, and I squinted my eyes enough to see that it was indeed Tamaki, who was carrying Haruhi in his arms. My heart rate began to speed up again as I stood up.

"Haruhi! Tamaki-senpai!" I called out, dashing into the shallow water and making my way in their direction.

I walked the rest of the way back to the shore with them, stroking Haruhi's hair and grateful that the two of them were okay.

After setting Haruhi back down on her feet, Tamaki faced her and leaned forward just slightly with a stern expression on his face.

He breathed out in irritation. "Why would you try to make such a reckless decision?"

His tone seemed to surprise her, and she shot him a weird look in confusion. "Senpai—"

"You knew that you wouldn't stand a chance!" Tamaki cut in angrily, placing his hands on her shoulders and forcing her to stare into his eyes. "You have no idea what you could have gotten yourself into, Haruhi!"

Haruhi furrowed her brow. "Senpai, I was only trying to help," she muttered lowly. "I'm sorry that you had to go through the trouble of saving me, but I don't understand why you're so upset with me."

Tamaki sighed irritably once again, letting go of her and turning his back towards her. "My point is that you were far too reckless," he muttered. "And I won't be speaking to you until you admit that you were wrong."

* * *

Dinner, despite being held in a place as nice as Kyouya's family villa, wasn't as pleasant as we'd hoped. The twins and I were sitting at the table and quietly discussing what had taken place that day. Tamaki and Haruhi were sure to either get into an argument or ignore each other completely, at the minimum. And that's exactly what they did.

Haruhi opened up the double doors to the dining area and walked in with Mori, who towered over her as usual. Although Tamaki was still angry with her, he couldn't help blushing at the sight of the adorable dress that she was wearing.

Ironically, he and Haruhi wound up having to sit next to together, and the tension in the air was so prominent for the rest of us as well.

Haruhi happily gorged herself on nearly all of the crab meat that we'd collected as Tamaki stared in shock. "Oh man, aren't these crabs... in-crab-able? Hah!" she laughed loudly with sarcasm, mocking the pun Tamaki had made earlier in the day.

She tossed another shell onto Tamaki's plate.

"How awkward," the twins sighed simultaneously.

I smacked the backs of their heads, causing them to wince. "You're not helping," I whispered roughly.

Tamaki rolled his eyes and sat back with a sigh. "Give it a rest, Haruhi. Haven't you had enough of those crabs?"

Haruhi laughed with yet an even greater amount of sarcasm. "Hah! Excuse me? I thought you weren't talking to me," she declared indignantly.

I could see that Tamaki was on the verge of running into his dark corner, but he stood up instead. "Alright, I see what you're doing!" he exclaimed angrily. "You simply refuse to admit to your actions. Fine then, see if I care! I'm going to bed."

He then made a dramatic exit after asking Kyouya to show him to his room. Kyouya exited as well, leaving the rest of us alone.

Slowly, our eyes travelled towards Haruhi, who was peering down at her plate of un-eaten crabs. "Hey, it isn't just Tamaki-senpai; we were all worried about you," Kaoru explained as his twin nodded in agreement.

Hani let out a sigh as well. "He wasn't the only one feeling that way, Haru-chan."

After Haruhi glanced around at all of us with a bit of sadness in her eyes, I stood up to embrace her with a smile. "Just don't do something like that again, alright? Where do you think I'd be if you were in a worse situation?"

She looked down once more. "I'm really sorry, you guys," she replied quietly.

With that, all of us gave her a big group hug before deciding to head off to bed.

But I couldn't bring myself to sleep; there was a lot on my mind about all that had happened today, so I figured that walking around the villa couldn't do any harm. I didn't think that Kyouya would mind as long as I didn't wake anyone. The villa was huge, after all.

As I took another few steps forward, a voice began to call my name quietly. It was just slightly high-pitched, so I ruled out the possibility that it was Kyouya and felt a tinge of relief.

"Who's there?" I asked quietly, turning around swiftly and shifting my attention down the moonlit hallway.

It was Tamaki. "What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?" he asked.

"Couldn't sleep," I shrugged. "I could ask the same of you."

"I'm headed to Kyouya's room; there's something I need," he replied.

I couldn't help but let out an awkward laugh as I turned to look at him, and we continued to stroll in the same direction.

"Hey, n-not for that reason!" he exclaimed. "I just need to borrow some sun screen!"

"Sh, you'll wake someone up," I muttered, putting a finger to my lips. "I guess I'll just walk with you, then."

"Hmph," he pouted as we continued to walk towards Kyouya's room.

I allowed another smile to cross my lips. "What did you think of Haruhi's dress? Her dad picked it out for her," I said.

"Ah," he replied almost inaudibly as his face began to flush. "It was rather... uh."

I let out a bit of laughter before my expression shifted to a serious one again. "Tamaki-senpai, I can see why you were upset; all of us were. But she was just doing it to protect the guests; she didn't mean to hurt anyone. I know you didn't realize it, but your interactions at the dinner table actually brought her down quite a bit."

After a few moments of silence, Tamaki sighed in slight agitation. "She did something very reckless, Hiroshi."

"No duh," I said, bopping a fist on his head.

"Hey!"

"Do you pay attention? I just said that the rest of us felt the same way."

"She could have drowned," he replied with a more serious expression.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Not sure you're getting the point. She didn't drown, and it was all thanks to you."

"Well," he began after another bit of silence. "I couldn't quite stand the thought of her putting herself in that much danger."

"You care about her a lot, don't you?" I asked.

He hesitated and turned to look at me as another blush was visible on his face. "W-why of course... why wouldn't I care about my little girl?" he stammered quietly. "Well, I'll be stopping here; I believe this is Kyouya's room. Goodnight, Hiroshi."

" 'night," I replied quickly, turning around as he turned the doorknob.

I stopped in my tracks soon thereafter when Tamaki let out a gasp, and I spun back around to see what was wrong.

His expression then turned to one of fury and his face began to redden as he pointed a finger forward. "You bastard!" he shouted.

"Tamaki," Kyouya sighed in exhaustion.

Nervously, I walked over to see what Tamaki had caught sight of to make him so furious. It was then that I understood why he'd had such an outburst.

With the lights in his room dimmed, I wasn't sure what was going on at first, but I saw that Haruhi was sitting down on Kyouya's bed. He was standing up beside her, lacking a shirt and glasses, and he shifted his gaze towards me and Tamaki once again. "Hiroshi?"

I couldn't get a good look at the expression on his face; I was too busy turning away and running like the wind down the hallway. I didn't know what came over me, but I didn't want to be there at the time. I didn't want to see him with a shirt off, next to Haruhi, with the lights turned off. Was he planning to do something with her?

I breathed heavily, and my running slowed. I dug deeper to find what exactly had made me run away. I was sure it was the fact that I didn't want to see such a man who would do something like that to my best friend, but something else was in the back of my mind as well.

My eyes widened.

Maybe I was jealous.

I stopped walking altogether, bent down, and fell to my knees afterwards. Shaking my head from side to side and still breathing heavily, I peered down at the ground and convinced myself that this clearly wasn't the reason.

"Hiroshi," I heard a smooth voice call out. "What on earth are you doing?"

I turned around to find Kyouya, and I stood up abruptly. "I could ask you the same," I muttered lowly, not making any attempt at hiding my angry expression.

He took a step closer with confusion in his eyes. "I'm not entirely sure what you were thinking, but—"

"You don't need to lie," I cut in, turning away from him once more and taking a step in the opposite direction.

He grabbed a hold of my wrist before I could step any further, causing me to spin right back around. I tried to yank my hand away, but he was too stubborn, and he only continued to stare at me with a serious expression on his face.

"Let go," I huffed as I continued to pull away. Despite all of the anger I had built up inside of me, I was beginning to lose the bit of energy I had left.

"Why would you think I'd do something like that?" he asked with a stern tone of voice.

"I'm not stupid," I replied angrily.

"I won't let go until you know I'm telling the truth."

I wondering how the hell he could be so collected at that moment; who did this jerk think he was?

"You're going to have to believe me," he said.

A bolt of thunder shot across the dark sky, causing a loud crack to sound in the air. Without much thought, I was able to pull away and fell to a crouch. I wrapped my arms around my legs and buried my face in my knees as I shook.

I was afraid of thunder and lightning nearly as much as Haruhi was. We'd always help each other through storms when we were little and huddled up next to each other, but she wasn't there this time around. The sound of it was the worst, and now, it felt like the thunder was striking right outside of the window.

After a few long seconds, a hand was rested on my shoulder. "Hiroshi?"

I looked up slowly to find that Kyouya had bent down to my level.

I gasped as another bolt seemed to split the sky in half, and my heart began to pound at the noise resonating in the air. "K-Kyouya... senpai..." I stammered.

His slightly wide-eyed expression transformed into one of concern. Slowly, he placed one hand on my arm and cautiously brought the other up to my forehead. He brushed a few strands away and peered into my face with an expression that comforted me. "Don't be scared," he whispered. "Things should clear up soon."

My nerves began to calm down as he continued to look directly at me. As the storm passed, I was able to take a few deep breaths before looking down and then up at Kyouya again.

"Are you alright?" he asked, slowly standing up and extending his hand.

I was a little too flustered at the moment to not allow him to help me up. After taking another deep breath, I cleared my throat.

Suddenly, a mischievous giggle could be heard from directly behind us. "And so we have a rendezvous in the middle of the hallway!"

I turned my head sideways and saw a grinning Hikaru staring straight at us with the others behind him.

"Sushi and pocky sticks, sittin' in a tree!" Kaoru chanted.

"Shut it!" I huffed.

I turned, backing away and narrowing my eyes at the twins, and I took a brief glance at Kyouya. He appeared to be in slight shock at seeing them as well. But then he turned to look at me, and the corners of his mouth tugged up slightly. He was grinning; this guy was freaking grinning at me. Well, it's not like I couldn't expect something like this from a host, anyways.

* * *

"We better check up on the boss," Hikaru chuckled as we proceeded down the dark hallway.

Kaoru laughed in reply. "What could he possibly do to Haruhi?"

"Be quiet, guys," I muttered, cracking the door to Kyouya's room open just slightly.

Haruhi was blind-folded, and Tamaki was giving her ear plugs. It must have been the thunderstorm. I grasped the meaning of this situation and began to smile.

"With the blind fold, you won't see anything and the ear plugs muffle the sound!"

"You're right, Senpai!"

Tamaki was trying to help Haruhi find a way to get through the thunderstorms. I'd never really noticed what a caring person he was capable of being. He seemed to care for Haruhi in a way that I'd never really seen someone else did.

"You nasty pervert," Hikaru sighed.

Tamaki swiftly turned with wide eyes. "No!" the befuddled blond shouted. "It isn't what you think!"

Although I fully understood what Tamaki really meant to do, I couldn't help but fall to the floor and start cracking up with Hikaru and Kaoru at how messed up it seemed from a glance.


	8. Only a Fever

— _Chapter 08 _—

_**Only a Fever**_

* * *

I stared at my reflection in the warm cup of green tea Haruhi had made. Coming over to her house had always been relaxing for me despite Ranka's persistent attempts to get in touch with our supposed feminine sides. Things were even more tranquil at that point in time, however, since he decided to go out for the day to leave me and Haruhi be.

Haruhi walked in from the kitchen and took a seat across from me, pulling a few photos out from an envelope. "Hey, look what came in the mail," she began, spreading a few of them out onto the table between us. "Looks like the others decided to send photos from the beach trip we took last weekend."

I began to flip through half of the pile until I couldn't help but snort. "Tamaki-senpai looks like he's about to pass out in this one," I said.

"This one's cute," Haruhi smiled in return, holding up a picture that Hani and I had taken together for me to see.

With smiles similar to those of the happiest kids in the world, we held up shellfish in front of the camera, and the twins could be seen further away in the background as they continued their beach ball chase. With a giggle, I flipped to the next one and stared at it with a ponderous mindset. Kyouya stood behind me, looking at me with an amused expression in this one as I seemed to be laughing my head off in the foreground.

Shrugging, I slowly began to flip to the next picture in my pile, but not before Haruhi stopped me with a little smile on her face. "Hey, go back to that other one," she half-laughed.

"Psh, what are you talking about? You act like he'd be interested in someone who's not the heir to a world-renowned business."

"I dunno about that, Hiroshi," she replied.

"So you're the exception, huh?" I laughed half-heartedly despite the bit of tension beginning to cave into my chest. Why the heck was wrong with me?

Haruhi only blinked in reply. "Wait, are you talking about... oh, that," she muttered, raising an eyebrow at me. "Please, you already saw the way Tamaki-senpai reacts when Kyouya-senpai and I are even near each other. There's no way something like that would happen, anyways. I'd rather focus on my studies."

I gulped and rested both of my elbows on the table, burying my face in my hands. "Sorry, Haruhi."

She let out a carefree laugh. "Tamaki-senpai's already in my personal bubble enough," she muttered as her eyes became half-lidded in slight annoyance. "Whenever he gets uncomfortably close to my face, I just wanna..." she sighed before her voice trailed off.

Her face began to turn red. "I just wanna smack him," she huffed in conclusion.

After a few seconds, the mood was light again and it was hard not to giggle. I'd never seen Haruhi so worked up about a guy, but I didn't blatantly mention anything. Her feelings for Tamaki were something I wanted her to find out on her own.

"Well, sorry for making you worry. I didn't know you looked at Kyouya-senpai in that way," she said in an unsuspecting tone of voice.

My head snapped up. "Huh? I don't."

Haruhi laughed. "If you say so."

I crossed my arms and puffed my cheeks up, hoping that she'd change the subject sometime soon.

The sound of our gym teacher's whistle resounded loudly throughout the gym, and she pointed in my general direction. "Hiroshi and Haruhi, you'll be paired up with Machi and Kyoko for this round," she announced before we hurried into our spots.

"Hmm, Hiroshi will probably get the advantage; Haruhi's a boy! A strong, handsome boy," one girl sighed dreamily. I suspected that she was a host club guest as well after our gym sensei ensured that the volleyball net was tight enough.

"Ready?" I muttered quietly to Haruhi, who nodded soon thereafter.

The whistle was blown once more to silence all of us. I didn't particularly like playing sports this was , but I didn't have much of a choice. "And, _start!_" our teacher called out.

A series of grunts and gasps could be hear coming from both sides of the net as the volleyball was being bumped back and forth between us, and everything seemed to be going smoothly so far.

Unfortunately, this had only lasted a short while longer, and the ball began to fly towards my face at such a fast rate that I wasn't able to stop it in time.

It hit me square in the head. I fell to the floor with a thud as one of my eyes began to water; this was probably from the dirt particles on the ball that had gotten into it, and I made every effort to wipe it dry before feeling a sharp pain forming in my ankle.

I kept my gaze down as I continued to rub my eye, still unable to stand up without my temporarily impaired vision interfering, and a pair of footsteps seemed to be making their way in my direction. I assumed that it was the gym teacher's, but a bunch of girls began to sigh dreamily and gasp. "It's Kyouya!" they cried out.

"Wait, what," I muttered lowly, looking up to see that this person was indeed the guy that the girls were shrieking in delight about. What was he doing in the middle of the gymnasium? "Uh, Kyouya-senpai?" I asked quietly, still covering the watering eye.

He bent down to my level with a curious expression and slowly moved my hand away. He raised an eyebrow and looked back up at the girls on the other side of the net.

"W-we're sorry!" they exclaimed simultaneously.

"It's fine; it's fine," I called out, bringing my hand back up to my eye. "Accidents happen."

"You pass as a student aid for this course, Kyouya-san!" the gym teacher announced cheerily. "Great job rushing over to an injured student immediately; not that we expected anything less from you!"

I raised an eyebrow at him as girls began to cheer, wondering why the heck he would need to be a student aid for physical education. Then again, for someone like him, this was probably just another little credential to add to his resume. But why would the teachers and students be so biased as to grant him full credit for a mere action? Was that even allowed? I figured his status as a host club member had to do with it.

With a sigh, I propped myself up on my hands and bent over on the foot that wasn't injured. I slowly came to balance myself on one foot and hopped past Kyouya towards the corner of the gym; another girl had been waiting to take my spot next to Haruhi.

Once out of everyone's general sight, I lost a bit of balance and began to fall over, but Kyouya had stepped forward to support me before I was back on the ground. "Let's get you to the nurse," he said, placing an ice pack in my hand. "Place this on your eye instead."

"I'm fine," I replied shortly, leaning away from him to prop myself up on the wall.

"Because a twisted ankle isn't something to worry about?" he asked suspiciously.

My eyes became half lidded in mild irritation. "I told you that I'm—_whoa!_" I shouted.

At that point, Kyouya had bent down and thrown me over his shoulder to carry me outside.

"Hey, put me down!" I exclaimed as my face began to flush. "Class was almost over, anyways; I'd spend the rest of the day sitting comfortably in a chair."

"You're still acting like an injured ankle isn't something that needs tending to. I should know; my family owns a variety of medical facilites in the country of Japan."

"Fine; I could have just gone to the nurse by myself then. And I told you to put me down," I huffed.

"Could you have?" he asked.

After furrowing my brow and realizing that there was no winning with this guy, I puffed up my cheeks and proceeded in pressing the ice pack gently to my eye before we'd reached the nurse. It was then that he finally set me down so that I'd be able to take a seat, and the nurse peered over at me with a cheeky grin. "How may we help you, miss? Are you alright?"

I nodded. "I think I just twisted my ankle," I replied.

The nurse dashed over and to lift my foot up with the same cheeky smily, taking me by surprise. "Ah, I see. Would you like to lie down for a bit in the resting room?"

"Well, I think I'll be okay once I—"

"Let's go, then!" she giggled as two other nurses rushed in to lift me right off of my feet. My eyes widened in shock as they carried me into what looked like a French-style bedroom, complete with silk comforters and a miniature chandelier similar to the one above the grand staircase. This one had been dimmed.

Gently placing me right onto the bed and tucking me in snugly, the two nurses beamed and bowed just slightly before Kyouya walked in as well.

"Here, Miss Katou," one nurse said quickly, holding another ice pack to my injured ankle and wrapping a bandage around it. "Is there anything else we can do to assist you?"

Taking in my surroundings in bewilderment, I quickly shook my head from side to side. "N-no thank you, this is great," I stammered quietly.

Kyouya cleared his throat and pushed up his glasses up just a bit. "Ladies, if you wouldn't mind, may I stay here for a bit to look after her?"

"No problem at all, Mr. Ootori," the two smiled in unison before slipping out of the door.

After blinking in confusion, I laid back. "They're really diligent," I muttered in amazement. "They must really care about the well-being of the students, huh?"

"Well, it wouldn't exactly look good on their part if they failed to tend to a student's injuries properly. Working as a nurse at this school means a rather decent income; losing their jobs wouldn't be ideal."

I opened my eyes a little more and shifted my gaze in his direction. "Oh c'mon, don't you think that maybe they act out of genuine concern?"

He stared at me intently for a few long seconds before moving in a little more closely so that our faces were about a foot apart, and my eyes widened just slightly as I felt my heart beat begin to speed up once more. The slightly amused smile that crossed his face didn't seem to help.

"What the heck are you doing?" I muttered, backing away just a little. "You should probably go soon; you'll be late to your next class if you don't start walking."

He cleared his throat before straighening his posture once more. "I suppose you're right," he replied, reaching over just a little to ruffle up my hair as my face began to flush once more. "Hopefully your ankle heals up soon; we wouldn't want our designer injured."

A few long seconds passed before he'd reached the door, and I looked over in his direction.

"Hey, thanks, Kyouya-senpai," I called out.

After a long pause, Kyouya turned just slightly towards me. He gave a single nod and fixed his glasses, and something about the way the corner of his mouth tugged up made my heart skip a beat; I froze.

Puffing my cheeks up again, I closed my eyes and rested the back of my head onto the pillow once more. These weird feelings were probably only the result of a fever; I didn't think I had anything to worry about.


	9. Invitation from Lobelia

— _Chapter 9 _—

_**Invitation from Lobelia**_

* * *

Once instructors had permitted their students to go home for the day, the majority of the student body bustled through the hallways. Students staying for extracurricular activities stayed, however, and that included the members of the host club. I stood in the back of classroom 1-A along with Haruhi and the twins.

"Haruhi!" Hikaru exclaimed. "I just remembered; Tamaki-senpai wanted you to go and make a commoner's coffee run after school. We ran out just yesterday."

"Already?" Haruhi sighed irritably. "Sheesh, how much of that stuff do you guys really need? I don't see what's so great about it; it's just coffee."

I stared at Hikaru and Kaoru confusedly. "What do you mean by commoner's coffee?" I asked.

"The instant kind," Haruhi replied.

"No complaining!" the twins chorused. "Remember that you're still the host club's dog as well!"

Haruhi let out an irritated sigh. "Tch, fine," she muttered. "Hiroshi, mind coming along? I have a feeling we'll need to supply more than usual this week. I'll probably need help carrying the extra bags."

"Sure," I replied with a small nod.

We walked out of the classroom and continued down the hallway side by side for a few long seconds before we heard someone calling our names from behind, and we spun around to find two girls jogging towards us with huge smiles on their faces. It didn't take too long to realize that

"Hiroshi! Haruhi!" Kyoko called out one more time before the two of them were only a few feet in front of us.

Machi continued as Kyoko caught her breath. "We're sorry to be a bother, but we'd just like to take a moment to thank you."

I stood frozen for a bit in confusion. "Ah, um... you're welcome? What did we do?" I asked, turning to Haruhi.

Evidently, she wasn't sure what they were talking about, either.

It was then that Kyoko took another turn to speak and elaborate. "Why, we're talking about Hikaru and Kaoru, of course. To us, at least, it seems like they've opened up quite a bit ever since they became friends with you two! They were never this talkative and friendly in middle school."

Haruhi and I stared at each other in confusion once more for a good few seconds, but Haruhi responded with a friendly smile anyways. "Oh, it isn't a problem," she replied.

After saying our goodbyes to them for the day, we headed off to the market to buy the instant coffee that the host club seemed to love so much. We'd soon forgotten about our confusion as we continued to walk and chat about other things, but before that, I couldn't help but wonder why the twins' friendliness was such a big deal. Were they really so closed off in middle school that this was a huge change?

We headed towards Ouran's south wing, each now carrying a brown bag full of instant coffee packages and containers. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, but in a matter of seconds, Haruhi seemed to have tripped on her shoelace.

"G_ah!_" she shouted as her wide-eyed gaze met the ground.

Before she hit the ground, however, someone had come up to catch her: a tall, slender woman with short hair that was an unsaturated shade of brown. By the looks of her uniform, she didn't attend Ouran Academy.

"Why hello there, fair maiden," she began with a smug expression on her face, supporting Haruhi enough to get back on her feet. She turned towards me soon after. "What are you lovely ladies doing with those bags of... whatever they are?"

"They're for our club," I replied shortly.

The woman allowed a coy smile to cross her face before responding. "So I see."

After awkward nods from me and Haruhi, the two of us began to pace forward a little more quickly towards the club room. Unfortunately, the strange woman had followed us all the way up the grand staircase with her two similarly-dressed companions trailing right behind her.

Haruhi and I turned towards the three of them once more in confusion.

"If you don't mind me asking, who are you guys?" Haruhi asked.

I proceeded in feeling for the knob and pushed the door open, still keeping my eyes on them. "Are you here to see the host club? They're in here, if you were looking for them."

Once we'd opened the doors completely, I saw each of the hosts dressed in the knight cosplay I'd designed the week in advance. "Welcome," they chorused once more.

Instead of continuing to smile, however, slightly befuddled expressions washed over their faces to match those of me and Haruhi. It seemed that they weren't expecting these girls.

"More guests?" Kyouya queried.

"Well," the slender woman began. "I couldn't help but take notice of these two fair maidens while taking a stroll towards this school."

Suddenly, she lifted Haruhi into her arms before any of us could even turn in her direction, and their faces began to inch closer together as Haruhi's eyes widened. "You have such pretty maidenly eyes, my dear."

"Um," Haruhi muttered blankly, "Thanks."

The friendly demeanor of the hosts soon turned to a casual one.

"Who are you, anyways?" Hikaru asked shortly, raising an eyebrow at the three of them.

The woman looked back up towards the rest of them with a seemingly contemptuous grin. "You mean you don't know who we are?"

"That's why we asked," Kaoru replied in a blunt fashion.

With a snap of Kyouya's black notebook, he looked towards the unfamiliar trio. "By the looks of your uniforms, I have reason to believe that you three are from St. Lobelia Girls' Academy. Is this correct?"

"Precisely," one responded proudly.

The first woman stepped forward. "My name is Benibara. But please, refer to me as Benio."

"I am Suzuran," the girl with much longer hair called out with a curtsy.

The last and shortest girl with a puffy bob stepped forward after spinning around in a pirouette. "And I am Hinagiku, a first-year!"

Benibara continued. "We three are the girls who make up St. Lobelia's prestigeous, talented White Lily League! Or, as others refer to us…"

The three of them began to tug at their tops until they came off with a pop; they'd suddenly revealed that they were wearing enormous, tacky-colored Victorian Era style gowns. They even had the huge feathers in their hair to top it off.

I took a gulp as my eyes popped open. "What the... how the heck?!"

"The Zuka club!" the three chorused as I continued to stand frozen in my spot.

After a long few seconds of awkward silence, each of the hosts turned to look at one another, and Hikaru and Kaoru brought their hands up to their faces as their eyes began to water. Before we knew it, the two of them had fallen to the floor in violent laughter.

"_The Zuka club!_" the two cried out as they pounded their fists into the floor repeatedly. "Stop it! _Stop it!_" they guffawed.

Narrowing her eyes at the cackling pair, Benio allowed her expression to darken. "At least our club can't be possibly any more foolish than this host club of yours," she muttered. "You're just a bunch of weak little punks with no sense between you."

Tamaki gasped deeply as enormous amounts of tears began to spill from his eyes, and he dashed over to a corner before crouching down in agony.

"It's a shame," Suzuran sighed in a condescending tone of voice, looking towards him with a dark chuckle. "This pathetic little cluster of phony men are dragging these two lovely maidens down with them."

The shortest one puffed out her chest haughtily. "Benibara is right! Fictitious romances seem to be all that this club is capable of offering. Your president may be a pretty little halfer, but we have much better things in store if you consider joining us instead."

"You know, I'm beginning to believe that I don't have a choice but to rescue you two from this awful scheme of male prostitution."

"_What!_" Tamaki shouted at the top of his lungs.

The three ignored him and continued.

Benio let out a sigh and threw her arms around me and Haruhi, taking us by surprise. "Don't you fear; we'll rescue the two of you. If you passed the entrance exam for Ouran, you'll surely make it into Lobelia."

After a few long seconds, Haruhi cleared her throat and pulled away from Benio, as did I. "Just wait a moment there," Haruhi began. "I think there be a few misunderstandings; first of all, you just called Tamaki-senpai a halfer."

Despite Haruhi's attempts to stick up for the hosts, Hani cheerily hopped on over, seemingly unaware. "Because he is one," he giggled with a cheeky smile. "Tama-chan is half French and half Japanese!"

Haruhi let out a sigh as her eye began to twitch, and I cleared my throat as well.

"Actually," I began in an attempt to clarify what she was doing, "I don't think it's right to talk that way about them just because you think they don't have the same history as you do."

"We don't; this club's only been around for two years," the twins cut in before I swung around to narrow my eyes at them.

In a final attempt to rid the three girls of their haughty attitudes, Haruhi stepped in once more. "Well, if you think that the host club only means to satisfy themselves financially, you're wrong. It's not like they're charging their customers or anything."

Kyouya brought his laptop over to a nearby table and pushed his glasses up just slightly. "Actually, we—"

Quickly clasping a hand over his mouth, I turned to them with a nervous laugh. Once a few seconds had passed, I shifted my gaze to look straight up at a wide-eyed Kyouya, and I let out an irritated sigh. "Do you not see that Haruhi's trying to make you guys look good?" I whispered roughly.

After his initial shock, Kyouya brought my wrist down and looked towards the laptop screen. "I do, but it's not like we can say she's telling the truth. Take a look."

I turned my head in the same direction to see that he had some sort of auction website open. The image of a mechanical pencil was on display below red lettering that claimed it had been sold. Although I didn't notice at first, I took an audible gulp upon realizing that this was indeed Haruhi's. She'd been looking for it for quite a while.

"You auctioned off Haruhi's pencil?!" I shouted, quicky looking back towards Kyouya.

"We have to make money somehow; did you really think that we work here as volunteers?" he asked casually in reply.

Before I could say anything back, Haruhi rushed over to us with a furious glare as she stared at the screen.

Kyouya cleared his throat before scrolling down. "Congratulations; it's been sold for thirty-thousand yen."

"_That's called stealing!_" she exclaimed as her eyes continued to widen.

Suddenly, Tamaki jumped up and dashed over to us as well. "H-Haruhi, we're sorry!" he pouted, holding up another mechanical pencil with a stuffed teddy bear on the top. "Here, daddy will let you have his Kuma-chan pencil instead!"

"I don't want it."

The melodramatic blond gasped deeply once more as larger quatities of tears began to pour out from his eyes.

Benio's confused expression turned into a smug one again.

"So, who's it going to be, then?" she asked.

Suzuran slowly made her way over to me and Haruhi with a seemlingly all-knowing smile. "Us, or them?"

Neither of us replied for a few long seconds, but before we could even open our mouths, Benio spoke up again.

"We'll give you time to think things through," she said. "Please, my dears, choose wisely."

With that, she and her two companions twirled out of the club room towards the building.

The others turned towards Haruhi with apprehension; her expression didn't exactly scream happiness at the moment.

"H-Haruhi?" Tamaki stammered once more, gingerly reaching out to her.

"I'll be leaving, then," she muttered shortly, smacking his hand away.

I grabbed my things and began to walk out a few seconds after Haruhi did.

"Hiro-chan, are you angry, too?" Hani asked sadly, stopping my in my tracks.

I turned to look towards all of them. Maybe I was just tired or cranky, but it was stupid of them to give her pencil away without asking or telling her. It was a nice one, too; it seemed that they didn't consider the fact that it wasn't so easily replacable for people who weren't as wealthy as them.

Not uttering another word to them for the day, I strode out into the hallway as well.

* * *

As I made my way towards the cafeteria, I could hear a pair of footsteps trailing behind me. I thought that the person would keep their distance, but they seemed to have sped up, and I shifted my attention towards the sound before jumping back.

"Whoa," I muttered.

I'd relaxed soon thereafter once I'd seen that it was Kyouya.

"I'm sorry, did I startle you?" he asked, straighteneing his posture. "I meant to ask you something."

"If it's about the incident yesterday, I think it's kind of self-explanatory as to why Haruhi was upset. It just wasn't right of you guys to do; simple as that," I shrugged, turning in the other direction to continue forward. "I'll be heading to lunch, then, Kyouya-senpai—"

"Just wait a moment," he cut in, placing a hand on my shoulder and spinning me around to look towards him again.

I shot him a strange look before realizing that our faces were only about a foot from each other. His slightly wide-eyed expression matched mine.

As I peered slightly downward, my face began to flush, and I gingerly pushed his hand away. "Yeah?" I asked. "What's wrong?"

Kyouya cleared his throat and straightened his posture once more. "Hiroshi, are you seriously taking transferring schools into consideration?"

I needed to look back up at him to observe his expression, and it surprised me to see it. He really wasn't kidding. "I'm not going anywhere," I laughed. "You think I didn't work hard to get into Ouran? If I wanted to go to St. Lobelia's, then I would have taken their entrance exam, too."

"So you enjoy partaking in the host club?"

"I don't think you realize how much fun I have designing for all of you," I replied, raising an eyebrow at him.

He hesitated for just a few moments before crossing his arms and letting out a small chuckle. "I was only making sure."

"But that only goes for me at the moment, as far as I'm concerned. While I'm sure that Haruhi isn't planning on transferring, either, you guys might still want to make it up to her."

"Well, we had a plan in mind to convince the both of you, but I don't see the harm in ensuring that Haruhi stays as well," he said. "Now the plan seems a little more conceivable with you in the picture."

"Oh really?" I asked. "And what exactly did all of you have in mind?"

* * *

The hosts were huddled in a cluster in the middle of the club room, and I shut off the lights before dashing over to Tamaki's usual corner. "Remember to sing in a hilariously ridiculous falsetto voice, you guys," I said.

"Ouch!" Tamaki yelped.

"Gah, stop moving!"

"What are you doing, idiot?"

"_Shush!_" I whispered roughly to them. "Do you want her to hear you?"

They became silent once more as a stream of light poured in. The plan was going smoothly so far; Haruhi slowly made her way in along with the three members of the Zuka Club. "Uh," she muttered quietly in confusion before Tamaki stood up.

"_Ouraaaaaan!_" he sang out in a high-pitched voice.

The twins, Hani, Mori, and Kyouya had followed, and I rushed over to switch the lights on. Once their ridiculous get-ups had been revealed, they sang in the same falsetto-style voice simultaneously. This left Haruhi and the other three distraught for a few long seconds.

I didn't think that things would work out at first; Kyouya requested that I design and put together outrageously garish dresses and feminine hairstyles for them. Upon seeing that the idea in itself made me fall to the floor in violent laughter, however, it was sure to make Haruhi crack up eventually as well.

For the time being, she blinked at them and struggled to take in what exactly was going on.

"What is this?" Benio asked as her eyebrows knitted together in fury. "Why, don't tell me that you mean to mock us."

"Not at all," Tamaki replied casually, flipping his head full of fake blond tresses and puckering his red lips. "We're simply trying to show Haruhi that, by being in the host club, she can still experience the wonders of female bonding!"

Suzuran and Hinagiku grunted, but they weren't as furious as their implied leader. Benio shot a glare in their direction.

"You idiots!" she shouted. "You really think you can really win her over by being so foolish?! That's it; we're taking Haruhi and Hiroshi with us. I've had plenty enough of your—"

"_HAHAHAAAAAAAA!_" Haruhi cried out, falling to her knees in a fit of violent cackling.

The theatrical trio looked towards her in confusion.

She seemed to be struggling to catch her breath. Hani and the twins rushed over in their loud get-ups and demanded that she refer to them as big sisters. She took a few gasps of air between a series of long laughs. "S-Stop it, you guys!"

"Call us big sister!"

"_HAAAAAAAAA!_" she shouted with a seemingly pained smile, falling to the floor and trying to wipe her tears away.

Finally, after a few long minutes of the three chasing her around, she finally managed to breathe normally again and surrendered. "What are you guys even trying to do?" she asked with another laugh, wiping her sleeve across her face. "I knew the host club was made up of a bunch of goofs, but jeez! What even made you want to do something like this?"

"We didn't wan't you to leave the host club, Haru-chan!" Hani pouted.

"I wasn't going to leave the host club, you weirdos," Haruhi replied, slowly standing up and turning to Benio once more. "I'm sorry," she began, "No offense to your school; I think that the idea of an all-girl's academy is actually pretty great. But your club isn't for me; there was a reason that I came to Ouran."

Benio fell expressionless for a moment before slowly turning towards me. "And your decision?" she asked.

"Sorry, but I'm with Haruhi on this one," I replied. "But we appreciate your offer."

The three peered at each other dejectedly for a moment, but they straightened their posture and Benio cleared her throat. "Then I suppose we'll take our leave. Adieu, my fair maidens, but keep in mind that we'll be back to save you," she chuckled condescendingly. "Suzuran and Hinagiku, let's be on our way."

With a salute, the three of them curtsied and pirouetted their way out of the club room.

"What's with all of the ballet moves?" Haruhi asked. "Anyways, you guys really went through all of this trouble, didn't you."

"Hold on just a moment!" Tamaki called out, tossing his wig to the side. "If you weren't going to leave in the first place, then why were you so angry yesterday?"

"Well if someone stole your pencil and auctioned it off, wouldn't you be mad too?" Haruhi grumbled in reply.

Tamaki's eyes began to water again in a way that made his mascara run. "I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, holding up his teddy bear pencil once more. "But I offered you my Kuma-chan pencil instead and you said that you didn't want it!"

"That's right. And I still don't want it."

Kyouya stepped forward in my direction, dressed in his own feminine attire. "You did an exceptional job," he said.

After a few seconds of looking at him, I quickly brought my hand up to my face, but this didn't help the choking sensation in my throat. Before I knew it, I'd plopped onto my knees. "_BAHAHAHA!_" I cried out, pounding my fists into the rose-tiled floor just like the twins had done the day before. "K-Kyouya-senpai... tch... _HAAAAHAAHAAAAA!_"

"Are you alright?"

"Just change back into your uniforms and get the make-up off!" I cackled, plopping onto my back at that point.

I was finally able to breathe and take them seriously once they'd followed my request, and I was able to return the smiles on their faces normally.

"Thanks for your help, Hiro-chan!" Hani giggled.

"Oh, it was Kyouya-senpai's idea," I laughed nervously. "Go ahead and thank him too."

"It wouldn't have been as successful without your efforts, Hiroshi," Kyouya said casually, clearing his throat and tugging his school tie into place. "I suppose we make a good team."

I eyed him intently before he pushed his glasses up and allowed the corner of his lips to tug up. At the sight of this, my face began to flush a little, but I shook my head quickly once he'd walked in the other direction.

"Well wasn't that just precious," Hikaru grinned.

Kaoru giggled mischievously in reply. "Guess we'll add that to our list of sushi and pocky—"

"Nope," I muttered, shoving my hands into their faces and pushing them through the club room doors.


	10. Pleased to Meet You, I'm Fuyumi

— _Chapter 10 _—

_**Pleased to Meet You, I'm Fuyumi**_

* * *

My breath traveled upwards into the pale sky in little clouds as I walked towards the section of mail compartments. Shivering, I took my key and opened the one assigned to our apartment number. It seemed like a bunch of junk mail, as usual, so I took the pile of differently-sized envelopes and headed back upstairs after shutting the small door.

I set them down on the dining room table with a plop, and it was then that an envelope with an intricately detailed design on it caught my eye. Raising an eyebrow, I pulled it from the pile. I opened it slowly so as to not rip it completely, and I took out the beautiful piece of stationary.

It was a wedding invitation.

"Fuyumi Ootori and Mamoru Shido?" I muttered in confusion.

My cell phone vibrated in my pocket, and, with the invitation still in hand, I flipped it open to see that the caller ID identified Kyouya as the caller. "Hello?"

"Hiroshi!" Tamaki exclaimed excitedly on the other line. "We'll be picking you up in a short while; get dressed!"

"Whoa, wait a second there," I replied, furrowing my brow. "Where are we going? And why did you use Kyouya-senpai's phone to call me?"

"We're paying a visit to Kyouya's sister, of course! It's in preparation for the wedding; she wanted to discuss a few things with us. As for your second question," Tamaki began before his voice trailed off. He spoke in a more hushed tone of voice. "He's not exactly a morning person, so he kind of, ah... chucked his phone at me and told me to tell you that we're on our way."

I gulped. "But I don't even know his sister."

"Well, you will!" Tamaki responded cheerily. "We should be arriving at about eight-o'clock."

"Thirty minutes from now?"

"_Hi, Pocky-chan!_" the twins chorused in the background before Tamaki hung up.

With a tired sigh, I went right back into the dresser in my room. Thinking that I should have at least looked a little representable, I put on a blouse and shrugged on a cardigan over it.

I stepped into a pair of flats, and I put on my heavier coat and slung my bag over my shoulder. With that, I headed out.

There was a limousine parked directly in front of the apartment building. I was skeptical at first, but one of the windows was being rolled down to reveal the twins' faces, so I slowly made my way towards them and hopped in.

It appeared that Kyouya was just barely awake once the limo slowly began forward. "Morning," he muttered tiredly as I raised my hand to wave.

Hani was snoozing on Mori's lap with a pink blanket draped over him; I couldn't help but giggle at such an adorable sight.

Mori suddenly pressed his index finger to his lips, peering in my direction.

"Hm?" I muttered.

"Mori-senpai's trying to tell you not to wake Hani-senpai," Tamaki whispered.

The twins wore slightly panicked expressions on their faces alongside him.

"What the heck are you guys talking about?" I yawned.

"You don't know?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked in unison. "His blood type is the same as Kyouya-senpai's."

"Is there a problem with that?" Kyouya asked smoothly, crossing his arms and staring out the window.

"Why of course not!" Tamaki laughed nervously.

"Is having blood type AB supposed to mean anything?" I asked.

"You really don't know any of these things, Hiroshi?" Tamaki whispered. "Hani-senpai is the reason for all conflict between America and Japan!"

I snorted. "Sure,"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hikaru and Kaoru looked like two little shaking chibi characters. "That's what the legend says," they explained in unison. "One time somebody tried to wake Hani-senpai from his nap, and the next thing you know, he blew up an entire military base,"

I raised an eyebrow at them. "Anyways," I laughed, "have all of you met Kyouya-senpai's sister yet?"

"Oh, Fuyumi? Yeah, she's great!" smiled Kaoru.

"I think I've met her once before," said Haruhi.

I gulped. Even Haruhi knew her. "So I'm the only one who hasn't met her yet,"

"You'll be fine," Kyouya assured me.

I sighed nervously. "If you say so,"

The Ootori family estate was much bigger than I would have ever imagined! I had to admit that the modern design was a bit intimidating. We walked through many halls and finally reached a pair of sleek double doors, which Kyouya had opened.

His sister was sitting down on a sofa in front of the door. As she turned her head to look at us, I was nearly stunned by her beauty. She was like a female version of Kyouya, except with even smoother pale skin and a smile that lit up the entire room.

She waited a few seconds before welcoming us with another warm smile. "Ah, Kyouya's friends! Please, come and sit!"

All of us sat on a comfortable white sofa in front of her. The maids poured tea for us as the rest of the host club made small talk with her.

"How are you, Fuyumi?" the twins asked excitedly.

"Fuyumi-chan! Fuyumi-chan! Do you have any cake here?" Hani-senpai giggled. She smiled.

"Your favorite kind will be out shortly," she replied with a melodic tone of voice. "Anyways, it's nice to see all of you again!" she said, observing each and every one of our faces. She stopped at mine and her mouth stretched out into an even bigger smile. "You must be Hiroshi,"

I shook her hand and smiled in return. "Yes, that's right. It's nice to meet you," I replied.

"You as well. I hear a lot about you from Kyouya. You really are adorable," she said, laughing a motherly laugh as she gave my cheek a squeeze. "My, my, Kyouya. You certainly chose a lovely designer for your club," she giggled.

I didn't quite know how to react at first, but I laughed politely.

Kyouya cleared his throat. "About your wedding,"

"Oh right, I nearly forgot. As you could probably tell from the wedding invitations, I will be marrying a man named Mamoru Shido exactly one week from now. If you all would be so kind to be groomsmen and bridesmaids, I'd be honored,"

It came as a bit of a shock to me at first because I'd never been a bridesmaid in my life, let alone to someone I didn't know too well.

"Yay! Congratulations, Fuyumi-chan!" Hani-senpai shouted, jumping into Fuyumi's arms.

"We'd love to,"

"How exciting!"

"We're so happy for you!"

She pulled out two pictures; one that showed the design for the bridesmaids and one for the groomsmen. "What do you think?"

"Looks great!" Hikaru said. Everyone, even Haruhi, stared at the suit instead of the dress. Fuyumi handed the picture of the dress over to me.

"Your thoughts, Hiroshi-chan?"

"It's…" I fell speechless at the site of the design. It was so beautiful that it would be too difficult to put into words. I traced my finger along the embroidered pattern on the photo.

"Do you like it?" Fuyumi asked, her eyes full of hope.

"Of course!" I beamed, smiling ear to ear. My face immediately fell when I realized how much of a little kid I just sounded like.

"I think I'll be a groomsman," said Haruhi. "Can't have pictures of me in this dress getting leaked, now can I?"

"No duh!" Hikaru and Kaoru laughed sarcastically in unison.

"Oh, shut up. You guys probably wouldn't have thought of it first," Haruhi said, raising an eyebrow at them.

Kyouya sighed. "I would have," he said coolly.

I rolled my eyes. What a know-it-all. "Of course," I muttered.

He smiled almost too innocently in reply. "Why thank you,"

"That wasn't necessarily a compliment,"

Fuyumi giggled. "The both of you are adorable!"

"Fuyumi," Kyouya muttered irritably, clearing his throat.

We immediately pulled away and sat on opposite sides of the couch. I frowned and crossed my arms at the twins as they giggled mischievously.

"And this is Mamoru," she giggled excitedly as she held up a picture of him. I realized that Fuyumi's love-struck smile was definitely sincere; he was one heck of a handsome guy.

"When?" Tamaki wondered.

"Tonight is the rehearsal dinner! And it's a given that all of you will attend. Our entire family will be attending as well."

I looked down at my outfit and found it difficult not to frown a little. I was going to be meeting a family as wealthy and powerful as Kyouya's in a cheap-looking sundress and cardigan. This was just great, wasn't it. But then again, everyone else was in casual clothing. So maybe things would turn out alright. Or at least I _hoped_ they would.

The limo that the host club, Fuyumi and I rode in had pulled up to a humungous mansion-like building. It looked like it was a scene right out of a fairytale.

White curtains with a gold design draped over windows that were almost as high as the ceilings. And believe me, the ceilings were as highly elevated as anything!

"This way, Miss Ootori," a man in the attire of a butler said, holding his hand out towards the direction of the dining hall. The ceilings were at the same level as the lobby, if not higher.

_This is pretty fancy for a rehearsal dinner, _I thought. We were now seated at a long table covered with the same fabric as the curtains. Mori, Hani and the twins sat next to each other. Tamaki, Kyouya and his two older brothers sat next to each other. I was a tiny bit grateful to have Fuyumi sitting between her fiancée and me, since I barely knew anyone in the Ootori family. Kyouya sat directly across from me.

I could feel my legs shaking under the table; I was way too nervous for this. "Hey Hiroshi," Kyouya said, tapping on my hand briefly and breaking my train of thought.

"Yeah?"

"I'd like you to meet my two older brothers: Yuuichi and Akito Ootori."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," I smiled anxiously, shaking both of their hands one at a time.

"As for you," said Akito. Isao said nothing. I assumed that Akito was the younger one of the two from the looks of his features.

"This is my father, Yoshio," Kyouya held his hand out in the direction of a man who looked like an old version of Kyouya; glasses and everything. "Father, this is Hiroshi Katou."

I turned my head in his direction and held my hand out. He hesitantly shook it and gave me a slightly cold stare… or maybe that was just his normal facial expression.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ootori-san," I bowed, if possible when sitting down.

"You as well. I hear that you are an honor student,"

"Yes, that's correct, sir. I passed the test to get into Ouran academy."

"So I see."

I gulped, hoping that maybe he had approved of me as well as Kyouya's older brothers.

We had four courses; the soup, appetizer, entrée, and dessert. My stomach felt like it was bulging by the time I took my last bite. I felt like I couldn't eat anything in my life ever again. But man, that food was delicious.

I saw a few limos pulling up at the front of the building as all of us exited. _Shoot! _I thought, _I don't have a ride!_

Kyouya-senpai's family headed towards a single limo, but Fuyumi paused to look at me. "Hiroshi-chan,"

"Yes?"

"Would you like a ride home, sweetie?"

I hesitated at the fact that she had just called me sweetie like I was her own daughter. And then I replied, "I could just call my mom. It's okay, really."

"And if she doesn't answer?"

"I guess I could walk," I shrugged with a blank stare.

Kyouya started to walk towards me. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards another limo.

"H-hey! What are you..."

It wasn't long before we were inside a moving vehicle. He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "I'm taking you home, if that wasn't in plain sight already."

I narrowed my eyes at him for a split second before I stared out the window.

"So," Kyouya began, "What do you think of my family?"

After a few seconds, I looked over at him. "Well, Fuyumi's great," I smiled. "But to be honest, I have no clue what your brothers and your father think of me,"

"They seem to be alright with you,"

"How can you tell?"

"They're usually cold to others. They seemed just a smidge nicer to you, Hiroshi."

"Really?" I queried. I really did stick out like a sore thumb; I wondered how they could possibly think of me as anything more than a mere commoner.

"I'm not kidding," he said, breaking my train of thought.

After a few minutes, we arrived in front of the driveway of my apartment building.

"Master Kyouya, we're here," the driver said.

"I should walk you up," said Kyouya, following me out. I figured that there was really no use in arguing; he would come whether I liked it or not.

We climbed up and reached the door, but instead of walking away, Kyouya stood facing me.

"You know, Kyouya-senpai, I could've just called my mom to tell her to pick me up from that place,"

"You think I'd let you wait out there at night?"

"It's not a big deal,"

"You'd catch a cold, especially since it's getting chillier outside now. I wouldn't want something happening to you, either,"

"And why is that?" I wondered bluntly.

He then chuckled, bopping his fist on the top of my head lightly. "You act like I don't care about you, moron,"

My eyes widened. I pushed his hand away, staring at the ground as my face burned up.

"W-well, you probably need to go now. I bet your family's waiting," I said, stumbling on my words.

"Take care of yourself,"

I sighed. "You too, Kyouya-senpai."

With that, his limo pulled away at the same time I had gone inside and locked the door.

_"You act like I don't care about you, moron."_

His words replayed over and over in my head as I tried to distract myself. It was a friendly statement; it was stupid for me to be worked up over something so simple.

I let out a loud yawn as I flipped my switch off and curled up into my warm comforter. I didn't even see Kyouya that way. I shouldn't have.

My last thoughts before I drifted off to sleep were about the wedding. It was so nervewracking but exciting at the same time. I hoped I wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb too much.


	11. Wedding Bells

— _Chapter 11 _—

_**Wedding Bells**_

* * *

My alarm clock rang seemingly louder than it ever has before. I flinched and pushed my hands to my ears with my comforter. Couldn't I just sleep in after a long week of hard work, studying and designing the host club's cosplay? Didn't seem like this was the case.

"Errrrr," I grumbled, wanting to smash that alarm clock more and more as it persisted. I couldn't stand how irritating the sound was, so I finally made every attempt to jam my eyes open and slam the off button on the alarm clock.

I wondered why on earth I'd set my alarm at such an early hour, but then remembered the fact that Fuyumi's wedding was taking place in what seemed to be only a few hours.

I yawned and stretched, and then rushed to the bathroom to wash my face, brush my teeth, and do whatever it is that I usually do in the morning to get ready.

Fuyumi told me that she already had the dress prepared for me to wear, so I pulled on whatever was clean, grabbed my bag, and sat and waited on the steps. Kyouya had said he'd pick me up, as well as the other hosts. As I cupped my hands to my mouth to make them warmer, I could see my breath creating a small cloud and drifting away. Winter was pretty much here already; there just wasn't snow yet.

And then the limo pulled up. I hopped inside to see the host club sleeping. To my surprise, every one of them had their eyes closed. I half-expected beforehand that they would be as awake as they were when I met Fuyumi for the first time, but I couldn't blame them. I sighed and figured that I might as well have taken a nap, too. I shut the door, leaned my head against the window, and closed my eyes, picturing what the host club would look like in the suits. Well, suits and a dress, in my case. I drifted off to sleep.

"Welcome!" Fuyumi smiled, brimming with happiness as she opened up one of the huge pairs of double doors. You'd think she was a host club member for a second, with the way she had both of her hands held out.

She was in a white robe. A few maids where behind her, phoning stylists and making sure the wedding dress was not altered in any negative way. Haruhi and the rest of the host club where somewhere else in the Ootori estate getting dressed in their suits while I was the only one out of the group that was going to be a bridesmaid.

"Hiroshi-chan, are you ready to be fitted?" she asked excitedly. But it didn't really look like I had a choice since two maids had already grabbed me and dragged me into a dressing room!

"_Gah!_" I yelled in shock.

Without hesitation, when the doors closed, they pushed me into a cubicle and handed me the dress that the bridesmaids would be wearing.

"Miss Katou, please disrobe and try the dress on. We'd like to see how it fits on you," one of the maids said.

I looked down at the strapless dress in my arms_, _and I quickly slipped into it. The other maid had helped zip and button the back of it. "It looks great on you, Miss Katou," she smiled. I looked down. It fit me perfectly! Fuyumi really guessed the correct size surprisingly well.

"No adjustments needed!" she said with a sigh of relief. "Miss Katou, it's time to style your hair and do your makeup!"

Another lady walked into the dressing room; she wore some sort of black apron and had an entire cart of supplies. I assumed she was both the hair stylist _and_ the makeup person since I spotted scissors, bottles of product and tons of supplies somewhere in that cart of hers.

Before I knew it I was spun around in a chair and staring myself straight in the mirror. The stylist was right there, smiling. "How are you doing today, Miss Katou?"

"I'm alright, and you could just call me Hiroshi, if you want,"

"So Miss Katou,"

I guessed she would be addressing me as a miss either way.

"Miss Ootori would like your hair to be styled this way," she continued and held up a picture of a model. Her hair was curled and parted in such an elegant way. She first used some sort of special curling wand to create the soft waves in my hair, and then straightening my side bangs yet giving just a tiny bit of volume. She then took two sections of my hair from the front and secured them in the back with a bobby pin. For the final touch, she added in a hair accessory very similar to the shape of a butterfly.

Before I even had a second to get a glance of how it looked, the lady seemed to have transformed from a hair stylist to a make-up person, applying eyeliner and just a bit of mascara. She applied the rest in small amounts. The thing I like about this lady was that she didn't put make-up on someone to the point where they looked like a clown or some goth person. But maybe it's because I don't really care too much for makeup.

They strapped a pair of shoes on me that had low heels, which I was extremely grateful for. I mean, me? Being able to walk in heels with ease? Not likely.

One maid took my hand and guided me towards a huge full-length mirror. I looked up.

"_Gah!_" I shouted in shock for the second time in the day as I looked at myself.

"You look amazing!" the other maid smiled.

"Uh," I gulped. "I-I guess this look is certainly different," I said. That was the best description I could come up with. It wasn't bad, but I didn't quite see it as a positive thing, either. I felt so odd, looking much more feminine than I usually did. That is, if I even looked feminine at all.

"Miss Katou, you can come out when you're ready. The other bridesmaids will be waiting," said the maids, and walked out of the dressing room. I took a deep breath and looked at myself again.

"Hiroshi-chan,"

I immediately recognized Fuyumi's voice and turned around to find her in her elegant, flowing white dress.

"Fuyumi! You look gorgeous!" I couldn't help but stare in amazement at her aura.

She completely disregarded my statement as a huge smile stretched across her face.

"Gah! You look so adorable! Kyaaaa!" she exclaimed, and giving both of my cheeks a pinch.

"Uhhr," I muttered. I couldn't talk clearly; I sounded like I had food stuffed in my cheeks or something.

We sat on the sofa in the dressing room.

"So where are the rest of the bridesmaids? Where did they get ready?" I asked.

"Each of them have their own dressing room."

"Oh, I see," I began, shocked at the fact that the Ootori family had enough money to have such a wedding. I continued nonetheless. "I've never been to a wedding before. Any pointers?" I asked.

"Well, you should be confident for one thing. I don't think you should appear embarrassed or shy."

"I guess that's true,"

"And also, groomsmen usually accompany bridesmaids down the aisle in pairs."

I gulped, hoping that maybe Fuyumi hadn't picked a certain someone to accompany me.

"You'll be accompanied by Kyouya," she smiled.

"Really?" I asked. I pressed my hand to my forehead.

There was a pause, and then the smile on Fuyumi's face became a warm one.

"You know, Hiroshi," she began, reaching over and taking my hand. "Maybe it's just me, but ever since Kyouya met you, he seems to have changed a bit,"

"What do you mean?"

"It's just that, well, I see a smile on his face much more often now than I did before. I think it has to do with you_,_ Hiroshi-chan,"

I quickly became embarrassed and attempted to pass it off as a slight joke, laughing half-heartedly. "Nah, it probably has to do with something else,"

She giggled. "I'm kind of nervous too. It was a marriage arranged by my father. You see, Mamoru comes from a very wealthy family as well."

"I didn't know this was an arranged marriage,"

She laughed. "I'm just lucky that I had the privilege to get married to a guy like Mamoru. He's been my best friend ever since I can remember," she blushed and smiled.

"Wow, so the two of you are childhood friends?"

"We sure are," she smiled sweetly. "I've always had a small crush on him, but didn't dare tell him that I'd fallen in love with him until much later,"

"Miss Ootori,"

She turned her head to the person standing in the door. "Yes?"

"It's time now,"

She smiled. "Well, Hiroshi, I'll see you out there!"

I wished her good luck, I walked out as soon as she did to find the rest of the host club; dressed in their suits. My jaw dropped. "Whoa, all of you look great," I smiled, jogging up to them as quickly as my heels would allow.

"So do you, Hiro-chan!" Hani-senpai giggled.

Mori smiled. "Hm,"

"You look really great, Hiroshi!" Haruhi stood in front of me, smiling. I blinked and started to laugh.

"Dang, Haruhi. You look so attractive as a boy that I just might have a crush on you," I joked.

"Hah! Well I'm flattered," she laughed.

"Oh, my little girl is so pretty!" Tamaki-senpai exclaimed, running up to me. He squeezed me to half to death, as Hikaru and Kaoru were doing.

"Hiroshi," started Kyouya as Tamaki and the twins finally allowed me to breathe. "I believe I am to escort you down the aisle."

"Oh, right. Fuyumi told me,"

Six additional bridesmaids walked out from their separate dressing rooms to greet us. They were assigned to each member of the host club.

Kyouya and I hooked arms, as did each of the other pairs. "Are you nervous?"

"I'm walking down an aisle for the first time in my life. Of course I'm nervous."

Instead of that horrid, cheesy 'here comes the bride' song playing on an organ, I heard soft and heart-warming music being played on the piano. It was so pretty that my heart practically felt like it was melting.

From the corner of my eye, I could make out Kyouya staring at me and smiling.

I sighed. "What is it?" I roughly whispered.

He only smirked and turned his head forward again. I blushed and turned my head away as well, wondering what a jerk face like him was thinking.

From the looks of it, Mamoru Shido seemed like a great guy for Fuyumi. I didn't get to know him that well at the rehearsal dinner, but anyone could see how much he loved her just by seeing the way he looked at her.

The ceremony wasn't too long, which I was grateful for since all of the bridesmaids and groomsmen needed to stand for the entire time.

The reception took place in yet another huge mansion-like building. It was larger than Kyouya's house _and _the building we went to for the rehearsal dinner combined (if that was even possible).

After eating, couples had gone onto the dance floor. The only word that could best describe the setting was fairytale-like. The music, the warm light, the big chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings, everything.

I couldn't help but want to be part of it, but just decided to appreciate the scenery since I didn't really even have anyone to dance with. I couldn't go out there by myself and just stand there, now, could I?

"Hiroshi,"

I turned around to find Kyouya, bowing, his hand held out.

"What are you doing, Senpai?"

He looked up at me. "May I have this dance?" he asked.

I had horrible coordination, let alone being able to make an attempt at ballroom dancing. I hesitated, but thought about whether or not I'd be able to be a part of something like this again.

"Why not," I sighed, taking his hand.

We twirled in circles around the dance floor along with the other couples.

"Hey," he began.

I looked up. His face was right in front of mine. My face felt as if it were burning up. I furrowed my brow. "What now?"

He smiled. It was a sincere smile. No sign of a smirk, and no sign of flirtatiousness seemingly intended. My face temperature raised for yet a second time.

"You look beautiful tonight."

My eyes widened in shock. I looked down immediately. "Not really,"

"I mean it."

I gulped. "Oh, shut it,"

He tilted my chin up and stared into my eyes. "Hiroshi Katou, I believe I said that you look beautiful tonight,"

"Er, thanks," I replied awkwardly, continuing to dance with him as I pulled his hand down from my face.

I wondered for a split second if Kyouya was only doing this stuff to practice for the host club guests.

Couples began to look out the window.

"It's gorgeous!"

"Whoa!"

"Would you look at _that!_"

"What are they talking about?" I asked, looking to Kyouya-senpai with confusion.

"Why don't we find out?"

Kyouya and I walked over to see everything outside covered in white.

"Oh, that's what it was," I smiled. "Snow."

Snow was one of my favorite things about winter. Everything looked so pure when covered in it.

"How pretty," I said, gazing out of the window.

It was snowing; it was finally snowing.

Kyouya-senpai blankly stared, but he eventually exhaled and smiled in return. "It sure is."


	12. Operation Christmas Cookie Bake-off

— _Chapter 12 _—

_**Operation Christmas Cookie Bake-Off**_

* * *

Pure white snow covered the school grounds and still continued to fall from the sky. It was a wonder that we hadn't gotten a snow day yet. Then again, with Ouran being a wealthy school and all, the staff managed to plow all of the pathways and constantly keep them clear. They also managed to make sure that warmth had reached every inch of the inside of the school.

That includes music room three.

Kaoru wore a curious expression on his face. "A Christmas cookie bake-off?" he asked.

"Precisely!" Tamaki beamed.

"I'm sorry, but could you explain how this is supposed to work out again?"

Tamaki ran out of the club room at lightning speed, leaving behind a huge cloud of smoke.

"T-Tamaki-senpai?" I managed to cough out.

And as soon as he had left, he ran back through the double doors, this time carrying a huge white board and a marker.

_操作クリスマスクッキー焼くオフ...現在準備中！_ It read across the top. This was Japanese for "Operation Christmas cookie bake-off... under construction!"

"Tamaki," Kyouya began, pushing his glasses up.

"Yes, Mommy? Are you impressed with my intricate strokes of Hiragana, Kanji, and—"

"Did you use Google Translate?"

Tamaki laughed nervously. "You are one funny man, Kyouya. Anyways!" he exclaimed, obviously embarrassed by the inaccuracy. He smacked a yard stick to the portion of the large white board with a badly drawn cookie on it. "Christmas Eve is tomorrow! The members of the host club will pair off and compete against each other to see who is able to bake the best cookies," he beamed.

"Alright, who's going be the judge of the cookie quality?" Kaoru asked.

Tamaki rushed over to Hani and placed his hands on his shoulders. "We can make the honor Hani-senpai's."

"With all due respect, what exactly is the purpose of your idea?" Kyouya wondered, probably calculating all possible reasons for planning such a thing.

"Yeah, can't we just have our personal chefs do the job?" Hikaru wondered in a carefree tone, not taking his eyes off of his video game. "And what do we get out of it?"

I looked up from my sketch pad and raised an eyebrow at them. "Some of us don't _have _private chefs, if you haven't noticed."

"Okay, so what do we get out if it?" Hikaru asked, still not persuaded in the slightest.

"Good question," the self-claimed host club king replied, holding up the prize. "The winners get a stuffed Totoro."

While Hani's eyes began to glisten at the sight of such an adorable object, Hikaru still wasn't convinced. "But it's not like two people can split it in half since we're going off into pairs."

"Hmph," Tamaki pouted. "Fine, everyone gets a stuffed Totoro! Happy now? _Just look at how adorable it is! _Do all of you _still _not want to participate? How heartless!" he half-sobbed, giving us his famous puppy eyes and allowing the tears to overtake them.

Everyone grimaced. "We'll do it, we'll do it," Hikaru said.

"I think it's a great idea, Tama-chan! And all of us get stuffed Totoros! All of you would be silly not to accept the offer," Hani declared, waving a finger at all of us.

The more I stared at the adorable prize, the more I couldn't resist smiling. It would look really cute propped up against my pillows.

Once I looked up to see that Kyouya was eyeing my goofy expression, I cleared my throat and turned my attention towards Tamaki again.

He sighed. "Precisely! We need to start thinking to the box and going into our horizons!"

"Tamaki-senpai, I'm pretty sure the sayings go 'thinking _outside _the box' and '_expanding _our horizons.'"

"And so!" Tamaki beamed, cutting me off and completely disregarding my statement. "This will help us to get a peek into the lives of Haruhi and Hiroshi. We must experience the inconvenience of not even having personal chefs. How awful and time-consuming it must be," Tamaki sincerely half-sobbed.

"You're right!" Hikaru and Kaoru sobbed right along with Tamaki.

"Although there are fascinating experiences in such a world, we must suffer as they do!"

Haruhi looked like she was just about to ring their necks out if they didn't quit being so stupid about the issue.

Kaoru raised his hand. "Alright, I call Hiroshi. I'd like to have the ultimate experience of being a commoner."

"Then I call Haruhi," Hikaru replied.

"I wanna be Takashi's partner!" Hani beamed, clinging to Mori's arm.

Tamaki waved his finger in the air apologetically. "Sorry, children. To keep this competition fair, we're selecting partners at random the old-fashioned way," he said, pulling out his top hat from our Alice and Wonderland cosplay.

He drew a single piece of rectangular paper from it. "Alright, Hikaru, your partner is going to be..." he began, pulling out another scrap. "Mori-senpai!"

The momentarily befuddled twin shrugged and looked up at Mori with a confident expression. "Our mother taught me and Kaoru quite a bit about cookie-baking. We should be good, right, Mori-senpai?"

"Kaoru," Tamaki continued, "Your partner will be Hani-senpai."

Kaoru's ears seemed to perk up at the thought. Based on what we knew of Hani, he'd probably be a master at baking and confections.

"Hiroshi, you'll be with Kyouya," Tamaki smiled, snapping his head in Haruhi's direction. "This means that my little girl is my partner!" he exclaimed excitedly.

I could feel Kyouya staring me up and down, as though he could describe my level of cookie-baking experience by glancing at the way I stood. I had a feeling that this would happen. It didn't seem like he'd be a skilled baker, either, considering the fact that he "didn't care for sweets."

Haruhi, being Haruhi of course, was clearly as un-enthusiastic as one could get. Tamaki, on the other hand, was like an over-sugared chibi character bouncing off the walls in sheer joy. At this point, he was already off in la-la land having his lovey-dovey shojo fantasies about himself and Haruhi.

"Well, Hiroshi," Kyouya began, turning in my direction. "I suppose this means we'll be working together."

"I guess it does," I muttered in reply.

* * *

I found it kind of odd that, in Japan, we were off of school on Christmas Eve but not on the actual holiday. I appreciated the relaxation time, though.

Unfortunately, this year, I was forced to spend it baking cookies with Kyouya.

_Baking, freaking, cookies._

At times like these, I was reminded of how much of an idiot Tamaki was capable of being.

I jogged home in the freezing cold from the supermarket, still trying to be careful so as to not drop the grocery bag filled with two boxes of cookie mix. I anticipated that Kyouya would rely on my "commoner skills" to get the job done, so I figured I'd pick something simple.

I stopped in my tracks briefly after glimpsing at the limo that had just pulled away. Maybe my mom had already let Kyouya in.

After I climbed up the steps and turned the key to get into our apartment, I shut the door behind me and allowed the warmth to caress my face. I exhaled in relief and put on my slippers after hanging my coat. "I'm home!" I called out.

"Welcome, dear," mom called back from the kitchen. "I'm heading out in a few minutes since I got a call from work. Can you hold down the fort?"

"Yep. Did someone come in?" I asked as soon as I turned on the light in my room and strolled to my dresser.

I didn't bother looking to the side; I assumed that Kyouya wasn't in my room at the time, so I continued to unpack the ingredients.

"Don't tell me he forgot," I muttered.

"Talking to yourself?"

"_Whoa!_" I shouted, jumping back as my heart began to beat rapidly. I was wrong about him not being there. "Sheesh," I huffed, "You might wanna ask permission before coming into someone's room and scaring the living daylights out of them."

Unbeknownst to me, Kyouya was sitting right there at the table in my room. His slightly wide-eyed expression turned into a bit of a smug one. "So do you like the kotatsu?" he asked.

I peered over to see that the heated blanket table had replaced my other one. "What the... how did you manage to get that thing into my room? They cost a lot, don't they?" I asked hastily. "Really, Senpai, if you do stuff like this, I'm going to be waist-deep in debt to you. I'm sorry if you needed to go through a lot of trouble."

He stared at me with a ponderous expression for a few long seconds before breaking the silence. "I should let you know that host club members do things like this for each other on a regular basis. My family owns a number of these; it was virtually no trouble. I figured I'd allow you to keep this for the winter."

I stared at the beautiful material bordering the smooth table before replying quietly. "Thanks, senpai. I really do appreciate it."

"It isn't a problem. Shall we start?" Kyouya asked, pulling another container of ingredients.

"Whoa, so you brought your own?" I asked, smiling a little at the sight of them. "I hope the butter and the mix that I brought will still be of good use."

Kyouya turned his head to look at the plastic bag still sitting on my dresser. "So this is the material that you use for baking?" he asked, standing up and walking over to take a closer look at the packaging. "Almost as efficient as the invention of instant coffee. Interesting."

I sighed once my smile disappeared and I raised an eyebrow at him. "Let's gather everything, then," I said, grabbing the grocery bag from him and stacking it on top of his box of ingredients.

We carried them over to the kitchen together and pulled out the necessary baking components. While I whisked the eggs, Kyouya pulled out various measuring cups and made sure that things like water and milk were in the proper portions.

After a few minutes of work, Kyouya chuckled briefly to himself. "Nice room decor, by the way."

"Was that sarcasm? I think that my Trapnest posters actually look good on my wall, thank you very much," I declared.

He finished leveling the milk before responding. "I'm talking about your collection of stuffed animals."

I turned to look at him, and my face began to heat up from embarrassment. "Oh, that," I laughed nervously.

"So the additional stuffed animal was enough of an incentive for you to follow through with the bake-off."

"Hey, don't bash Totoro," I said quickly, raising an eyebrow at him.

I'd only realized how silly I sounded after letting my words sink in. Once Kyouya and I seemed to be having a stare-off, the corner of his mouth began to tug upwards to form his infamous smug expression. Unfortunately, a feverish sensation began to take over my face again and I reverted my attention back towards the eggs.

He went back to finishing the liquid measurements. "If you don't mind me telling you, Hiroshi, I took a peek at your sketchbook. With your mother's permission, of course."

I grimaced once again, remembering all of the little shoujo doodles that I did on the side of my designs. "Sheesh, mom," I muttered. "Uh, I used to want to be a mangaka."

"You could be one if you wanted to," he chuckled. "But your designs are far more elaborate. I saw the Christmas designs, by the way. You did an exceptional job."

"Ah, thanks, senpai," I replied quietly, giving the yellow mixture just a few more whisks before setting the bowl down. "So what did you bring, anyways?" I asked, dusting my hands off and walking towards the box sitting on the counter.

"Some graham crackers and a container of gourmet apple sauce," he replied. "There are chocolate chips from Sweden in there as well. Our chefs use these as secret baking ingredients, so I'd appreciate it if you speak to anyone about it."

"Sure thing," I replied. "But does gourmet apple sauce even exist?" I asked, pulling out the container of the fruity mixture to discover that it was indeed true.

"The graham crackers were flown in from a French bakery a just few days ago, so they should still be in good condition."

I smacked my hand to my face once again, trying to calculate how much I'd possibly have to repay Kyouya in the future.

Before I could say anything in reply, he was grounding the graham crackers into crumbs using one of the mixing bowls, and so I walked over to him with the container of applesauce and chocolate chips. "Need me to pour these in?" I asked, placing them down on the counter next to him.

I reached over to open the bag of chocolate chips. "Maybe I should—"

"It's alright—" Kyouya began, reaching over at the same time.

It took me a fraction of a second to realize that he was holding onto my hand, and the both of us looked up at each other momentarily.

"Sorry," we said in unison, quickly looking back down and pulling our hands away. My face began to flush and had to resist smacking myself for having such a feeling.

"On second thought, could you pour the entire bag in?" he asked, standing up straight again and holding out the mixing bowl. "You can pour the container of applesauce, too," he said.

Once all of the ingredients were in a single bowl, he began to stir it with the wooden mixing spoon, but I held my hands out before he continued. "You're doing all of the work," I said.

"Would you like to try?" he asked with a smile that made me suspicious once again.

I grabbed the bowl and the spoon after eyeing him for a bit and began to stir as he continued to stare at me. Unfortunately, my arm began to tire out; the substance was thicker than the average cookie mix.

Puffing my cheeks up, I turned so that my back was facing Kyouya and continued to try to stir until my arm almost gave out.

He let out a light sigh. "I believe you're in need of assistance," he said, taking a few steps forward so that he was right behind me.

Tilting his head so that it was right next to the side of mine, he stretched on arm from behind me so that it was against my waist and holding the bowl. He stretched the other arm from behind as well to grab ahold of my hand that was holding the spoon. It almost felt like a back-hug.

"The heck, senpai? Th-this isn't necessary!" I stammered as my cheeks began to burn. "Just—"

"The mixture still isn't stirred thoroughly enough; would you like me to help, or not?" he asked, not budging from the position we were in. "This way, you can learn how to stir for a longer period of time. You hold it like so, and you turn like so."

I furrowed my brow, but I played along; he knew what he was doing. This was only going to be a one-time thing, so how bad could it have been?

After I reluctantly complying, he continued to move my hand in a different circular pattern.

* * *

_**The Morinozuka Household**_

"So, Mori-senpai," Hikaru began nervously. "The mix is finished. By chance, are you good at laying out the dough evenly? I've never really—"

He stopped and stared in surprised as perfect, circular pieces of the dough were flung into the air. They landed in precise, straight rows on the cookie sheet. And after the cookies were finished baking, Hikaru caught sight of the perfectly even sizes and allowed his jaw to drop.

"How..." Hikaru barely choked out.

Mori held one out to him.

"You want me to try one?" the dumbfounded redhead asked, slowly reaching out to take it from Mori's hand and taking a bite.

He couldn't hide his excited expression. "We don't make such a bad team."

Mori nodded with a small smile. "Mm."

* * *

_**The Hitachiin Household**_

"Hani-senpai, are you sure we're supposed to..." Kaoru gulped nervously as Hani added a little too much salt into the cookie mix.

Hani only beamed in reply. "Sure, Kao-chan! The more, the better!"

Kaoru hesitated before putting the dough into the oven. "O-okay, here we go," Kaoru stammered nervously in reply.

As soon as the oven began to heat up however, the dough began to bubble and fatten up at a rapid rate. The two of them waved their hands around hastily once a boiling sound was being made, as if that would resolve their problem.

"It's gonna blow!" Kaoru shouted, carrying Hani out of the kitchen hurriedly.

Kaoru and Hani peeked in ten minutes after what seemed to be an explosion.

"Oh my," Kaoru gulped. "Mother is going to kill me. Didn't you say you were good at baking, Hani-senpai?" Kaoru asked.

"I'm good at baking cakes, but not cookies, I guess," Hani sighed in reply, gingerly holding Usa-chan in his arms. "I'm so sorry, Kao-chan! I'll help clean up, okay?"

"It's alright; I probably set the temperature too high on the oven," Kaoru exhaled. "I'll call the maids down to help us. We can make a new batch afterwards."

Hani's face lit up. "Okay, I'll make sure to follow the instructions next time!"

* * *

**_The Fujioka Household_**

"Senpai, you're going to mess it up," Haruhi sighed irritably, continuing to scowl at her baking partner.

Tamaki was practically stabbing the spoon into the bowl. "Sorry, you mean this way?"

"_No._"

"Ah, wait, this way!" he panicked.

"You're spilling the mix, Tamaki-senpai," Haruhi muttered. "Seriously, you're going to drop the—"

Haruhi ran as fast as she could to catch the bowl and wound up tripping in order to save the cookie mixture. The bowl was right-side up when she landed, but to her dismay, she was on right on top of a red-faced Tamaki.

"A-Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she replied shortly, standing up as quickly as she possibly could and placing the bowl onto the counter.

"I'm really sorry," Tamaki sighed sincerely, standing up on his own as well to look at her. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

The blush in Haruhi's cheeks was so prominent; their faces were little too close for her liking.

"I-It's alright. Come on, let's keep going on this batch. Could you let go now?" she asked.

Tamaki smiled charmingly and chose lifted her hand closer to his lips. "Allow me to make it up to you."

"No," Haruhi replied bluntly, pushing him away to stir what remained of the mix.

* * *

I handed Kyouya his jacket around fifteen minutes after he made a phone call to be picked up. His limo was already waiting for him outside.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then. Are you alright with bringing the containers tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied with a nod.

He nodded as well in reply and reached for the doorknob.

"Wait," I began, placing a hand on the side of his arm. "Thank you for the kotatsu again. Be safe, alright?"

Slowly, he turned towards me with a curious expression on his face, and then he smiled a little.

"What?" I asked, pulling my hand away and looking down.

"You have a bit of powder on your face," he said, reaching up to brush it off of my cheek. "Goodnight," he chuckled, making his way out of the door and closing it behind him.

I curled up in my comforter a few minutes after his limo pulled away, puffing up my cheeks and trying to distract myself with thoughts of my Christmas designs.

* * *

I was only able to make the last twenty or so minutes of the host club's Christmas party, but it appeared that they had a great time with the guests at the time I'd arrived. I opened the double doors to music room three to see everyone smiling as they said their goodbyes for the night, and after the guests said their goodbyes to me as well, they headed home.

The club room was even more festive than I'd imagined; tall and brightly lit Christmas trees were in a circle around the room, decorated in tinsel and ornaments. The hosts surprised me once again with their ability to make so much happen within such a short time frame.

"Wow, you guys," I smiled, looking at how great the elf costumes fit the seven of them.

"You seem a little shocked there, Hiro-chan," Hani giggled. "But you were the one who designed the costumes."

Tamaki beamed at me as he took the cookie containers from my hands. "Here, have one!" he said, quickly placing another cookie into my mouth.

As soon as I reached up to break the rest of it off, a strong bitterness and saltiness came from the flavor and I coughed violently after swallowing the first bite.

Laughed nervously, Tamaki immediately took the rest of the cookie and chucked it into the nearest trash can. "Oh... sorry, Hiroshi. I think those were the ones that Hani-senpai and Kaoru made."

"What did you guys put in these things?" I coughed out, reaching for the nearest glass of water and taking a few gulps afterwards.

"Maybe just a _bit _of extra salt in there," Kaoru laughed. "Well, I guess theseare definitely out of the contest," he shrugged, dumping the rest of their batch into the trash.

Hani sampled a cookie from each of the remaining bins, and we couldn't quite tell which one he liked the most because he seemed to love all of them.

"Hiro-chan and Kyou-chan, there's something special about yours!" he smiled, looking in our direction. "I'd say that you guys win. But everyone else did a really good job, too! Do all of us get stuffed Totoros, Tama-chan?" he asked eagerly.

"Very well, very well," Tamaki said, tossing them to each of us. "Prizes for your hard work. And the experience!" he exclaimed. "_That _is how commoners bake their cookies! It's amazing, isn't it?"

"I think you just wanted to spend time with your love interest," the twins grinned, peering over at Haruhi. "We know you found a way to have yourself paired up with her; you were hiding the paper with her name on it behind your back at the time!"

"I did _not!_" Tamaki declared indignantly, crossing his arms in the midst of his face turning red.

Kyouya looked over at me. "We did a nice job, Hiroshi."

"Oh, it was your recipe, though," I half-laughed awkwardly. "You're the one who deserves credit."

"Typical reaction from you," he sighed.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Hey!"

"Everyone's cookies were really yummy," Hani beamed, clapping for all of us and then continuing to cuddle his new stuffed prize.

After a few more minutes of laughs and loud conversation, my mom called and asked me to start walking home, so I bundled up and grabbed my own Totoro. "I've gotta go now," I said, slinging my bag over my shoulder. "Merry Christmas, everyone," I smiled, "I hope all of you enjoy the rest of your holiday."

"Merry Christmas, Hiroshi!" the hosts called out in unison.

Haruhi stuffed one more small container of the cookies that she and Tamaki made into my bag. "These are for you and your mom," she said. "Be safe walking home."

"You too, Haruhi," I smiled in reply before making my way towards the front entrance.

I stood outside for a few long seconds to take in the sight of snow and moonlight covering the school grounds. Once again, I was reminded of Ouran's beauty, and I took a few deep breaths to let this memory sink in.

Peering down at my stuffed Totoro, a smile crossed my face and a I took a few steps forward to head home.

"Hiroshi?" a voice called in the distance from behind me.

I swung around. "Kyouya-senpai? It's freezing; go back inside!"

"I've been calling you for a while now. Is your hearing impaired?"

"No," I huffed.

Saying nothing in reply until he was only a few feet away from me, he held out a small box in my direction. "I nearly forgot to give this to you; it'd be a shame to waste it."

I hesitated before stepping forward to pick up the small package, and I pulled the small piece of wrapping paper over to reveal a small cell phone charm.

It was a mini Totoro._  
_

"Senpai," I began, looking back up at him.

He positioned my hand higher so that he could reach my phone and began to string the charm onto the corner. Subconsciously, he bent his head forward to get a better view of it and wound up lightly pressing his forehead to mine. "It matches the newest addition to your nuigurumi collection, doesn't it?" he asked, shifting his eyes up at me while our faces were still in such a position.

I pulled away as my heart began to beat a little faster and bowed. "Th-thank you very much," I stammered. "Thank you."

"I just happened to see it in a local shop and figured there wasn't a reason not to buy it. Just think of it as a little something for tending to the cut on my hand earlier in the school year."

"Oh, sheesh, that was forever ago," I sighed, peering back down at the charm. "The kotatsu was already a lot. More than a lot."

He only raised an eyebrow at me and chuckled once more. "Merry Christmas, Hiroshi," he said, allowing a warm smile to come to his face.

I reacted the only way I could think of at the moment; I smiled warmly right back at him. I hadn't seen him make such an expression very often. "Merry Christmas to you too, Kyouya-senpai."

After a little wave to each other, we began to walk in opposite directions. This Christmas was one that probably wouldn't leave my mind for a while.


	13. The New Year Ball

— _Chapter 13 _—

_**The New Year Ball**_

* * *

I took a few steps into Ouran Academy's festively decorated ball room. The vast flooring was so polished and shiny that it could be easily mistaken for fragile porcelain. I was always a little nervous upon walking across such glassy material; it seemed as though it would crack as soon as I'd set foot on it. Fortunately, it only appeared that way.

The marble railings and the towering Christmas trees were draped heavily with bright, white lights, and the three enormous but intricate chandeliers hung from the ceiling, fully lighted as well. The windows, which were just as tall as the mile-high ceiling, were draped with velvety satin.

Once I proceeded towards the hosts, they turned to look at me with small smiles on their faces.

The corner of my lips began to tug up as well, and my heart fluttered. "You guys really do go all out on special occasions, don't you?"

"Why of course," Tamaki replied cheerily.

"So Boss," Hikaru began, peering at his surroundings once more. "Is it finalized? This is how the ballroom will be set up on Friday night?"

"Correct you are. Hopefully our guests will take a liking to all of it."

One of the biggest events that the host club was in charge of would take place in a few days: the Annual New Year's Eve Ball. This was their way of holding a more extravagant countdown to the New Year, and according to Tamaki, this event was particularly popular with their guests.

The self-proclaimed host club king turned towards me. "Hiroshi! As you're considered a club member, you must dress for the occasion."

I let out a nervous laugh. "I prefer to work behind the scenes; it's not like I'm an actual host."

"You're attending, nonetheless," he replied casually.

"So... does this mean that I need to wear a gown?" I inquired. A strong sense of reluctance crept up on me.

Tamaki nodded. "You'll need to master the waltz as well."

"What?" I asked quickly, taken aback. I let out a sigh and rested my hand to my forehead. "But I thought that only you guys were dancing with the guests. You could have let me know sooner; the ball is only a few days away."

"We need time to review as well. This was the purpose of today's meeting; why do you think we're staying for a few extra hours?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Well, I thought we were just going to help with setting up."

A determined expression took over Tamaki's face once more, and his fist shot up into the air. "It's quite simple, really! Definitely feasible," he declared. A charming smile crossed his face. "Who would you prefer to teach you? Me, perhaps?"

Kyouya stepped forward before clearing his throat. Leaning in a little closer to Tamaki, he spoke in a hushed tone. "It would be wise to allow me to teach Hiroshi instead. This would be the perfect opportunity to get close to Haruhi, don't you think?"

The befuddled blond allowed his eyes to widen as a prominent blush began to show in his cheeks. He slowly shifted his gaze in Haruhi's direction, and she peered over at him curiously.

Hikaru and Kaoru let out a snort. "Boss and Haruhi, sittin' in a tree—"

"_Gyaaaaaaaah!_" Tamaki shouted in a flurry of embarrassment, chasing the mischievous pair around the ballroom.

"Now, now," Kyouya cut in, pushing his glasses slightly further up the bridge of his nose. "Let's get to work."

With a sigh, Tamaki slowed to a stop and cleared his throat. "Very well," he said, raising his arm. Once he'd snapped his fingers, orchestral music began to resound in the air from some sort of hidden speaker system.

Hikaru and Kaoru chose to be paired up, and, to my surprise, Tamaki was able to convince a reluctant Haruhi to be his partner as well. Hani and Mori chose to review on their own.

A moment after Kyouya had made his way towards me, he leaned in and extended his hand outward. Hesitant, I gingerly put my left hand forward to meet his.

He first raised an eyebrow and slowly pushed my left hand away, afterwards pulling up my right wrist.

"What's wrong?" I queried.

"The woman always offers the man her right hand," he replied. He waved my right wrist in front of my face for just a brief moment before proceeding.

After placing my other hand on his shoulder and tilted my elbow upwards so that it matched the angle of his. "Now, I lean forward on my right foot, and you lean backwards on _your _right foot."

I matched his instructions.

Hearing a dramatic gasp, I shifted my attention in its direction to see that it was from Kaoru. It appeared that he'd nearly taken a fall, but Hikaru was able to catch him before such a thing could happen.

Hikaru fixed his gaze on Kaoru with a romantic concern in his eyes. "Are you hurt, my dear Kaoru?" he asked.

With a sigh, Kaoru allowed his expression to match his twin's. "Oh, Hikaru, I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Already?" I snorted. "It's not like there are guests around us at the moment."

The two straightened their posture with all-too-innocent smiles on their faces.

"Well,—"

"—a little practice can't hurt."

Tamaki hummed to the classical music, having his shojo fantasies about himself and Haruhi again, causing him to stumble upon a few steps.

"Senpai, I don't think you're doing this correctly," Haruhi blankly stated.

"Of course I am. I _do _have more experience at doing the waltz than you do," he smiled charmingly at her.

Haruhi sighed. "Arrogant."

"AHHH!" Tamaki gasped, and then ran off into his dark corner. "Oh, Haruhi, can't you be a little nicer to your father?"

"You're really getting the hang of this, Hiroshi," Kyouya stated as we continued to repeat the cycle.

"You really think so?"

"I think you're even ready for tomorrow night,"

"Good job, Hiro-chan!" Hani-senpai giggled. "I think we're _all _ready for tomorrow night, don't you think?"

He turned to the rest of the hosts with his big brown eyes. They all nodded in agreement.  
Tamaki-senpai jumped up from his corner, suddenly glowing. Man, does he have the biggest mood swings.

"Good job, everybody," he said, clapping his hands together with a cheery smile on his face. "Tomorrow night, let's do our best!"

I rummaged through my closet and my drawers for something that was at least decent for attending a ball, but I would up with no luck whatsoever. The only dresses I have are sundresses. Sundresses are pretty out of season, aren't they? Wouldn't I freeze?

I sighed.

Well, I'd have to make do with what I had. I pulled out a light blue one with beading and embroidery on it. It was pretty much the nicest one I could find. I slipped it on and stared at myself in the mirror. I'm not particularly into girly things, especially dressing up and make-up and all that stuff. All of the sundresses that I have were either given to me by my mom, or bought by myself only because they were so cheap and I didn't really have anything else to wear in the summer, anyways. But if I really had to, then I guess dressing up isn't _too _horrendous.

Then again, I did have a passion for designing. It was pretty ironic that I'm not too into dressing up, huh.

"Hiroshi?" Mom called.

"Yes?"

"One of your friends—"

"Is it Kyouya-senpai?" I asked.

"Well, you're right about that,"

"I figured," I sighed.

"He dropped something off for you," she handed me a package. "He's quite the gentleman, Hiroshi. So handsome, too," she giggled, "now that I think about it, you two would make quite an adorable couple,"

My eyes popped wide open. "No! Never in a million years!"

"Whatever you say," she giggled suspiciously, and slipped out of my room.

I sighed and plopped the package down on my bed. I stared at the label on it for a while. In all caps, it read '_CHLOÉ'_. _Chloé _was one of the most known designers to Japan. Only the big celebrities and wealthy business owners were able to afford clothing designed by her.

_What could Kyouya-senpai possibly have gotten me now? _I thought. I opened it lifted the thin paper covering. I picked up the gown inside and held it up to myself in the mirror and gulped at the sight of its beauty. I slipped it on.

It was a white, strapless ballgown that was long in size. It covered my feet. The gold dusting that was distributed throughout sections of the dress matched the gold bow on my back, which was connected to the gold ribbon wrapped above my waist. I looked as if I were about to get married.

My slight smile had faded once I had to pick up my ringing cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Do you like the dress, Hiroshi?"

"Kyouya-senpai, I—"

"Good. My sister's stylists will be there shortly. See you tonight."

"_What?_"

He hung up before our short conversation could continue any further.

"Good evening, Miss Katou!"

"Gah!"

I turned around and stared wide-eyed at the two beaming ladies who had hair-styling supplies in their hands. Before I could even blink, they had me sitting in front of a mirror, quickly working with the supplies they had. They created soft waves in my hair, and simply left it that way.

"Enjoy yourself at the ball, Miss Katou!"

"But—"

They were out the door before I could even thank them. The Ootori family sure seemed to think that I'm some sort of dress-up doll.

I stared at myself in the mirror once more before shutting the lights off and heading out. I wondered what kind of night this was going to be.

"Welcome to Ouran Academy's annual New Year Ball," Tamaki announced charmingly, standing at the top of the steps with the rest of the hosts. "Please enjoy yourselves as much as possible in the remainder of the year," he smiled.

Every girl blushed and giggled, and then clapped. The orchestra began to play an old-fashioned, classical piece of music. Couples automatically paired up to waltz.

Every host was off dancing with other girls. Briefly, that is. They were trying to give each girl a chance to dance with at least one of them by midnight.

I walked over to the largest window, not being able to take my eyes off of the scenery outside. Snow fell. It covered everything from the trees to the edges of the campus. Everything looked so pure; so untouched. I could stare at it for hours. Ideas for cosplay for the host club, flashbacks... they all filled my mind for thatlong of a time.

Kyouya suddenly appeared behind me. I turned around. "Would you like to dance, Miss Katou?" he asked.

"Kyouya-senpai, you have a bad habit of appearing out of nowhere."

He still stood there without any reply, waiting for me to take his hand. So I extended my right arm, and we spun on the glass-like floor.

"You're welcome, Hiroshi," he grinned.

I furrowed my brow at him. "Well, I would have said thank you if you hadn't hung up. The stylists left before I could even move, too!"

He laughed. "Well, I wanted to make sure that you were dressed appropriately in a sufficient amount of time. I couldn't have you dressed in your normal clothes, now could I?"

"What's wrong with my normal clothes?"

"Well, first off—"

"Never mind," I rolled my eyes, "And shouldn't you be dancing with the other girls?"

"We've already gotten to all of them," he said, pointing to the resting hosts sitting on the stairs, except for Tamaki-senpai. I wonder where he could be.

"Ladies and gentleman!" Tamaki's loud voice had filled the room, causing all couples to stop dancing and stare up at him.

"There are only five more minutes until the new year! We encourage each of you to make a wish!" he smiled.

_A wish, huh? Then..._

I thought and I thought. And then I smiled.

_The host club is really made up of a bunch of goofs. And I'm not completely sure why I'm making this wish, but..._ _I wish for the host club to last for a while longer; a really big while longer._

"Twelve!" the crowd chanted.

Kyouya and I glanced momentarily at each other, and then looked up at the big ticking clock.

"Ten! Nine! Eight!"

_This year has been a great one, _I thought. My last thought of the year.

"Three! Two... _one!_"

"_Happy New Year!_" everyone shouted. Fireworks danced and sparkled in the sky, lighting up the entire yard with colors.

I smiled and jumped up to embrace Kyouya. "Happy New Year, Kyouya-senpai!" I beamed at him in excitement. My smile then faded quickly. I pulled away immediately and stared awkwardly at the ground, wide-eyed.

"I mean uh... Happy New Year," I said blankly.

_Man, was I really so excited over the freakin' new year that it caused me to do something so stupid?! _I frowned, and turned away.

But Kyouya-senpai grabbed my wrist and swung me back around. He wrapped both of his arms around me and pulled me into a tight, warm hug.

"You too, Hiroshi. You too."

I hesitated for a while, and then hugged him back. The both of us shut our eyes slowly and smiled. "Hiroshi," he whispered in my ear. His warm breath tickled the side of my face, and so my cheeks were on fire.

"What do you want now?" I asked irritably.

"If you really wanted to hug me that badly, then why didn't you just say so?" he smirked.

I grunted and pushed him away lightly. "I didn't,"

"Oh really?" he grinned.

"Have some modesty," I sighed.

"Hey Hiroshi! Kyouya-senpai! Check this out!" Hikaru and Kaoru shouted, rushing over to us. They held up a tray of sushi rolls and strawberry-flavored pocky sticks in our faces.

"It's you and Kyouya-senpai!" Hikaru laughed. He held up a sushi roll and waved it around.

"My name is Kyouya. Oh, Hiroshi, you must be blushing because you have such a big crush on me!" he imitated Kyouya in a deep voice.

"Oh, Kyouya-senpai, stop it! Ohohoho!" Kaoru giggled in a high-pitched voice, waving a pocky stick around in the air.

Kyouya only blinked.

"Hah! Nice impression, Kaoru!"

"You too, Hikaru!"

"_Shut your faces!_" I shouted.

"Sushi and pocky sticks, sushi and pocky sticks!"

They continued to sing and skip around as I chased after them all around the ball room.


	14. A Winter Retreat

— _Chapter 14 _—

_**A Winter Retreat**_

* * *

"Another trip, Tamaki-senpai?" I asked, looking up from my sketchbook.

"Correct you are, Hiroshi!" he beamed back, shoving a flyer in my face.

I stared at the picture of what looked like a winter wonderland, complete with snow-covered mountains and happy couples and families sledding and skiing down them. _Enjoy yourself in Nagano! _it read.

"Haven't we already taken a trip to that beach in Hokkaido already? Won't that cost a bit much?"

"Nonsense! The host club is so wealthy that we can take trips anytime we please," he bragged. "Plus, this will be a great way to start off the New Year, don't you think?"

I sighed. "I guess."

"These rich people," Haruhi muttered.

"We'll be staying at a resort which my family owns," Kyouya announced, "I hope that you will find everything to your liking." He laid out a few brochures that pictured different sections of the rooms and overhead shots of the entire resort. There was even a hot spring.

"Wow, Kyo-chan! This will be so much fun! Can I bring Usa-chan with me?" Hani smiled.

Kyouya continued to scribble in his black notebook. "I wouldn't have a problem with that," he finally replied.

"We'll also be taking a private jet in order to reach this destination," Tamaki explained further.

"But isn't the bullet train faster?" I wondered, "We _are _in Tokyo after all, and, don't you think that taking a private jet would only be more hass—"

A hand was covering my mouth before I could finish. My eyes met a smug Kyouya's, therefore earning him a death glare.

"Mmmm-mmm! Mm—" I helplessly attempted to shout at him with my covered mouth. I raised my hand to pound my fist into the top of his head, but he'd grabbed my wrist before I could even lift it.

"You have issues, young lady," he smirked, finally lifting his hand off of my mouth.

I sighed irritably. "What's your_ problem?!_" I shouted.

"Can't you ever just say please and thank you? You'd think that maybe someone would be happy, going on the ski trip to Nagano for free."

"I _am!_" I sighed, snatching my wrist from him and returning to the sketches of the host club's next cosplay designs.

Apparently, the next theme was going to be an authentic Hawaiian Luau... yet another beach theme. I have to admit, though, that that may be just what we need at this time of the year. But I still have plenty of time to finish them. You see, the Hokkaido trip had taken place over the course of one day and one night. And for Nagano? We'd be staying an entire week.

The squeaky evil laughter of a crazed fangirl had echoed throughout the club room. This, without a doubt in my mind, was Renge, rising out of the floor on a sphere-shaped platform, making her usual dramatic entrance.

She held the mic up to her mouth and smiled widely. "And for _this _chapter of Sushi and Pocky Sticks, it appears that the host club is taking a week long trip to Nagano! A _week long trip! _Did you hear that, folks?! I wonder what kind of drama and fanservice will take place during—"

"GAAAHHHH!" Tamaki yelped at her, "Must you always be the self-reference statement manufacturer?!"

"What's wrong with it?" she laughed. She giggled once again, and the platform lowered itself in a circular motion so that she disappeared into the ground again.

I opened my eyes slowly, blinked, yawned, and stretched, exactly in that order. We were now on the flight to our destination. I peeked at my cell phone. Two in the morning, Saturday.

I looked around at the other host club members, asleep on this private jet we were taking. Except, of course, Kyouya-senpai. He was wide awake, scribbling in his black notebook. And then he glanced at me, while my reflexes made me look like an idiot by making me pretend I was asleep again. He snorted. "Do you really think I'm that clueless, Hiroshi?"

My eyes popped open once again. I gave him the look of monotony. "No. I just..."

"You're just astonished by how good-looking I am," he laughed.

I gulped, his appearance suddenly glowing. I was beginning to imagine that warm smile on his face. I scowled, trying to hide my blush. Why _was _I blushing anyways?

He smirked. "You hesitated."

"_No!_ I mean... no, that's not it! Tch. Sometimes you _are _really clueless," I sighed, looking out the window at the snow-covered mountains.

"_Good morning!_" the hosts shouted.

I gasped as I turned around to see the beaming faces of the host club, except for Kyouya, who was still reading his book.

I sighed and plopped back down on my seat. "You guys are gonna give me a heart attack one day, you know!"

Tamaki-senpai laughed. "Sorry, Hiroshi."

"Mm," Mori agreed.

"We're almost there, we're almost there!" Hani-senpai danced around with his Usa-chan. "This is gonna be so _fun!_" he beamed.

"You bet!" Hikaru and Kaoru smiled mischievously, each one on both sides of me now.

"Oh, Hiroshi," Hikaru practically sang.

"What now."

The both of them turned their heads towards me and grinned. "Heh,"

I gave them a blank stare in response to their idiocy. They continued.

"_This _trip will guarantee many_ s_ushi and Pocky moments, won't it?"

"Shut it!" I scowled at them. "If you say one more word, I'll—"

"Master Kyouya," the pilot spoke through the intercom.

"Yes?"

"We have reached our destination,"

Hearing this, all of us rushed to a window each. We were nearing the ground. I wondered what would take place over these seven days.

"Wow," Haruhi and I exhaled simultaneously at the size of our rooms. Each of the host club members had a room the size of a huge condo, complete with high-priced furniture, bedspreads, a flat screen, a jacuzzi in the bathroom... everything, really. I mean, we could _all _be living in one of these rooms for a week if we really tried! Well, now that I think about it, that would just drive all of us insane.

"Not bad," the twins yawned, setting their bags down in the room they chose to share and plopping onto their bed, drifting away. So did the other hosts. Just a smidge of disappointment overcame me; I wanted to explore around a bit. But I guess that could wait.

_We have a long day ahead of us,_ I thought as I yawned. _ I'd better get some rest as well. _And just like that, in each of our separate rooms, we were all passed out.

"So what are we gonna do today, boss?" Hikaru yawned. It was so warm in here and so cold outside. I honestly just wanted to stay in the warm, soft bed that was provided and doze off, and maybe watch a few Asian dramas. But we aren't on this trip to be couch potatoes all day, now are we?

"We'll be snowboarding," he stated simply, taking a sip of his coffee. He sighed. "Oh, I miss the taste of commoner's coffee back at home! I forgot to pack some,"

"_Instant _coffee, you mean," Haruhi and I corrected him.

"Well, anyways,"

He snapped his fingers. I'd expected maids or _something _to come rushing in, but no one came out. Tamaki turned around, his face distorted in confusion. He snapped his fingers once more, awaiting something to happen. He rushed over to the antique phone on the modernly designed glass table.

"Hello? No. Oh, it's alright, sir. Okay. I'll speak with you later. No, you won't be fired."

All of us stared at him pensively, trying to figure out who that was. Probably one of the workers.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began. His lip quivered. "W-we… we can't go snowboarding toda—ha—haay!" he sobbed, rushing to Kyouya and leaning on his shoulder. "Mommy!" he cried. Here we go.

"There, there," Kyouya sighed, patting him on the back awkwardly. "Let me guess, our instructors can't make it today?"

Tamaki nodded his head morosely in response.

"Alright, then we can just reschedule it for another day,"

Tamaki suddenly shot up, and smiled so wide that his mouth hung agape like an anime character.

"I've got it!"

"Huh?" Haruhi stared blankly at the melodramatic upperclassmen.

"We can reschedule it for another day this week instead!" he beamed, pointing his finger in the air with determination.

The rest of the hosts sighed, placing their hands over their faces.

"Good job, Senpai!" I laughed nervously. Dear lord. He must have been too focused on his sobbing and acting skills to listen to what Kyouya had already suggested.

"Er… Senpai," Haruhi gulped, cautious of the fact that he'd had such a sudden mood swing.

"Yes, my dear daughter?" he practically squealed.

"Is there a backup plan for what we're gonna do today?"

"We'll be visiting the hot spring on this property," Kyouya answered for him.

Tamaki's eyes lit up as he put his arms around Haruhi. "Oh, we're going to have so much fun! Won't we, everyone?"

"Boss, we know you only wanna get close to Haruhi," the twins mischievously giggled.

He made an audible gulp, turning red right after.

"Don't be stupid," Haruhi replied to them, and then roughly smacking Tamaki's arm off of her.

"Ouch!"

"That's what you get."

Kaoru then sent me flying into Kyouya-senpai.

I landed in his arms with a thud, and somehow he managed to keep both of us standing after such sudden contact. I slowly looked to my right and glared at the twins.

"And..."

"What will _you _two lovebirds be doing, huh?" they chuckled.

"Now don't be silly," Kyouya sighed. He turned so that my eyes met his. "Are you alright?" he asked, with me still in his arms.

"Er,"

"Are you hurt anywhere?" he asked, tilting my chin up.

I gulped. My cheeks turned red at the lack of distance between our faces.

"I-I'm fine," I stated, pushing his hand away before my blush had escalated.

"I can tell," he grinned.

"What?!" I exclaimed, pushing him away abruptly.

"If you weren't blushing when our faces were closer, then I'd know something was wrong,"

"Ugh!" I shouted, grabbing the nearest pillow off of the sofa and tossing it at his head. He only caught it and wouldn't wipe that smirk off of his face when I yelled at him to do so.

"I'm getting ready," I stated, rushing up the stairs and slamming my door shut.

_Maybe I have a fever, huh? Yeah, that's probably why I've been burning up._


	15. Of Horror Stories and Asian Dramas

— _Chapter 15 _—

_**Of Horror Stories and Asian Dramas**_

* * *

An adorable old lady in a kimono, who was quite small in size, had welcomed us into the ryokan with a warm smile. "Please do come in!"

Each of us stepped inside the warm building. Such a sudden temperature change had felt so satisfying. One by one we took our boots off. Haruhi and I were the last ones who did so, on our way to the shoe rack to put our own boots away.

Everyone else gasped. We stopped in our tracks and turned to see the shocked looks on the hosts' faces.

"What," Haruhi sighed.

"Allow me to get that for you, my dears! " the old lady panicked, grabbing our shoes and putting them away herself.

"Oh," I said, "Thank you, uh,"

"You can call me Obaa-chan," she smiled, "Please step this way, ladies and gentlemen,"

Obaa-chan, I thought, smiling at how much her character and appearance resembled my real obaa-chan.

"Just a bit more," she reassured us, leading us through the surprisingly wide hallway. In a regular ryokan, the halls were much thinner; I'm not even sure one could even consider it a regular ryokan. I doubt it.

"And we're here!" she beamed, holding her arm out to point out the series of rooms we had been provided with.

"Enjoy your stay. Please call me if you need anything," she smiled endearingly, and then turned to Kyouya-senpai.

"My, my, Master Kyouya! You've grown! How old are you now?"

"I am now seventeen years of age, ma'am," he smiled charmingly.

"Oh, and you're so handsome! How are your parents?"

He hesitated.

"My father is quite successful," he said, his smile fading just a tad.

Obaa-chan froze, as if she had just recalled a crucial piece of information. "I'm sorry about your mother. Please do send my condolences."

"It was many, many years ago, ma'am. But thank you."

She then bowed, turned, and proceeded in the other direction.

Haruhi and I stared at the area. It was almost as nice as the actual resort we were staying at!

We sat our bags down on the kotatsu, and then I sprinted to the window to open the curtain covering the entire glass wall which served as the window.

My best friend and I stared out at the view of those happy families and couples sledding and playing in the snow. The white mountains covered the horizon as the orange light from the sunset poured in.

"I can't wait to get into the hot spring," I exhaled.

"That'll be relaxing,"

"No doubt about it,"

"Thank goodness the baths are separated by gender, right?"

The both of us shuddered at the thought of Tamaki and the twins trying to step into the hot spring with us.

"What do you mean by that?" Hikaru bluntly asked, obviously standing right outside our door along with his mischievous brother.

Haruhi scowled.

"Would you let us in, please?" Kaoru chuckled.

"No," I frowned, crossing my arms as if they could actually see me doing the action.

"Too ba-ad," they harmonized.

Kyouya-senpai slid our door open. My mouth hung agape in realization of how much eavesdropping could have been going on, and so he walked over to me and dangled a key in front of my face. "Don't you remember? My family owns this entire area," he grinned.

I snatched the key from him, carefully inspecting it. He then snatched it right back.

"This is Ootori property. And you, Hiroshi, are not an Ootori."

"No. And I'm glad I'm not one. I could never stand being your sister."

"There's an other way you could become an Ootori, you know."

"Huh?"

He smirked. "In that case, you'd have to become my wife."

I gulped and turned bright red.

"Would you like to?" he grinned.

"Oh, quit it!" I grunted, giving him yet another death glare.

"You're right," he sighed, "that could never happen; your wardrobe is commonly... well..." he sighed, looking down at my outfit.

"What's wrong with my clothing?!"

"Nothing," he chuckled.

My angry expression didn't lessen one bit; not that it should have. So what, if I don't wear expensive brands? Heck, at least my clothes are comfortable.

"Anyways," the twins giggled, "you and Haruhi should go to the female onsen now."

"We're going to be in the male onsen, if you two were wondering," Tamaki-senpai stated in a flambouyant, bragging tone.

I almost laughed. The female onsen was probably much cleanlier than the male one.

"See ya later, guys!" Hani-senpai smiled, on Mori-senpai's shoulders as always. Each of them walked out.

"Heheheh," I heard Kaoru giggle.

"Sushi," Hikaru grinned.

I clenched my fists.

"And," Kaoru smirked.

My face reddened.

"Pocky- ouch!" they yelped as I lunged at them, not to beat them up, but to give each of them a huge nail-digging pinch on their arms.

"Hah," I huffed as they ran off with the other hosts.

"This feels great," Haruhi and I sighed, resting our heads against the edge of the pool of hot water.

"Finally, we've escaped, right?"

"Wait!" I covered her mouth, peeking around to see if they had magically appeared, or in other words, made their usual heart attack-inducing entrance.

"Phew," I exhaled.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"I didn't want you to jinx it! You know how they always suddenly appear out of nowhere?"

Her eyes widened. "Ah, I know what you mean," she laughed.

"Well, whoever has come across them probably does,"

"Except for the fangirls,"

"And Renge,"

"Yes, and Renge," she agreed, "By the way, didn't she have a huge crush on Kyouya-senpai at one point?"

I froze.

"... Hiroshi? You there?"

"Eh? Oh, yeah. I'm here. I was just wondering the same thing."

"Hiroshi,"

"Huh?"

"Why don't you tell me about your crush on Kyouya-senpai?" she asked.

I gulped, and blood rushed to my face. "I-I don't like him," I stammered.

She sat back into the relaxed position she was in. "It sure seems like he likes you too,"

"Just like someone else has a crush on you," I laughed, trying to switch the subject to her and Tamaki.

Her eyes widened. "Hiroshi," she snorted. "No way."

I exhaled in attempts to slow my heart rate again. "But I don't like him. And besides, Renge is a much more worthy candidate, don't you agree?" I chuckled, leaning back onto the edge as well.

She laughed. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that,"

"Why is that?"

"Because Renge likes me,"

"And how does Tamaki-senpai feel about that?"

"What does Tamaki-senpai have to do with..." her voice trailed off and blood began to rush to her cheeks. "Ah, sheesh. Why the heck do these stupid things make me feel like I have a..."

The two of us looked at each other. "A fever?" we asked simultaneously.

We cracked up for quite a while. I was enjoying the moment; such relaxation was hard to come by.

"I'm stuffed!" Hani-senpai exclaimed, his words muffled from the remaining strawberry shortcake in his mouth.

"Mm," Mori-senpai agreed, sitting down right next to him in the circle the host club had been sitting in.

"Are you guys ready for some ghost stories?" Hikaru and Kaoru grinned, determined to turn us into shaky little scaredy-cats.

"Yes!" we said all at once.

"Alright!"

Hikaru and Kaoru took turns speaking.

"Here we go. Late at night, in this very building, a lady was cleaning and tidying up, just doing her job."

"But she needed to hurry up and get to her room, since it was almost two in the morning."

"And you know that that's when all the ghosts come out,"

"Exactly. Anyways, the power suddenly went out. And they heard the woman..."

Tamaki-senpai shook. "Th-they heard her what?"

"They heard her scream!" they jumped out at him, roaring with laughter once they'd seen his reaction.

"Don't do that!" he pouted, breathing heavily from his nervousness.

"Sorry, boss, we just couldn't resist!" they laughed, continuing with their story afterwards.

"The visitors panicked and were wondering what happened, but they were too afraid to go downstairs."

"And the next morning, she was gone! There was no trace of her."

"They were way too freaked out to stay any longer, so they packed their things and rushed out right then and there!"

"And some people can still hear her scream right before two in the morning,"

"We know it's true, too," Kaoru grinned.

I gulped. "Y-yeah right."

"Don't believe us? We've been here before. Kyouya-senpai took us on a trip here a really long while ago. And exactly a few minutes before two in the morning, we heard her scream. In fact, the screaming only began there. She did so for a while, and we used ear plugs for the rest of the night."

"Who knows? We may even hear her again this time,"

The gentle knocking on our door startled us so badly that we'd all yelped in unison and jumped back at the opposite edge of the room.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Obaa-chan said, "I didn't mean to startle you! I'd just like to make sure to tell all of you to get a good night's rest,"

"You too, Obaa-chan," I gulped, relieved that it was only her.

"Goodnight, guys," Haruhi yawned.

"Yeah, see you in the morning,"

Fortunately, all of our rooms are connected. On second thought, that's actually a good and bad thing. But at least Haruhi and I would be able to get to our rooms without having to step out into the hallway this late at night.

"YEEEEEE!"

I opened my eyes. So did Haruhi. We looked nervously at each other.

"Wh-what was that?" she whispered.

"I d-don't know," I shook as I peeked at my cell phone. It was 1:57 AM. I exhaled, not in relief, but anxiety.

"It could be Obaa-chan," Haruhi nervously laughed.

"... do you really think it's her?"

"Maybe."

Obaa-chan could be in trouble. It sounded like more of a yell for help. I hesitated. Only a few moments later did I stand up. Haruhi, still lying down, grabbed my wrist and stared at me in shock.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"That could be the creepy girl from the story Hikaru and Kaoru told us about, Hiroshi! I don't wanna risk it!"

I sighed. My mind then began to go into logic mode.

"And what if Obaa-chan slipped and fell or something, huh?"

I continued to walk towards the door.

"Hiroshi!"

"I'll be back in no time. Don't worry."

With that, I slipped out into the hallway and down the steps, flipping the light switch on to ensure my safety.

"O-obaa? Obaa-chan?" I called. No reply. I didn't see her, either.

The floors certainly looked polished. The place looked even tidier than when we'd all walked in. Obaa-chan must have already cleaned up.

"You alright, Obaa-chan? You're making me worried," I nervously laughed.

"YEEEEE!"

I gulped. Crap, I thought. I had no clue what was wrong with me at the time, but I'd persisted and kept on searching for her.

"Obaa-chan?"

I then heard footsteps behind me. Too afraid to turn, my heart felt like a racing horse inside my chest. What was I thinking, coming down here all by myself? Haruhi was right. I breathed heavily.

The lights switched off (by themselves, I assumed). Oh boy, I bet you could only imagine how much fear that had added on.

I began to run in the opposite direction. Something got a hold of my wrist.

"No!" I protested, turning around swiftly so that I could do whatever I could to break free.

I looked back.

"Hiroshi, what are you doing? Why on earth are you wandering around this late at night?" Kyouya wondered.

I stared with wide eyes at him. I then fell to my knees, staring at the ground in shock of the intensity of the fear I'd just experienced.

"Are you okay?"

He knelt down in front of me and took my face in his hands. My shock lessened, and reality sunk back in. It was only Kyouya. No one else. I only had energy to allow my head to fall into his chest.

"Hiroshi, it's only me," he reassured me, with such a large amount of consolation and sincerity in his voice that it wasn't even funny. I remained holding onto him until I'd realized the misunderstanding that occurred and my anger built up once again.

"What's wrong with you? Do you know how much of a scare you put in me?!" I scowled, pushing his hands away and scrubbing aggressively at my face.

"I heard someone walking down the steps, so I decided to follow. And once I saw that it was you, I figured that I'd come get you and turn the lights out in order to preserve energy and money."

"I believe you turned the lights out first," I huffed.

He laughed briefly at the sight of my facial expression. "Sorry about that."

"YEEEEEE!"

"Gah!" I shouted, Kyouya-senpai and I instinctively clinging onto each other.

"Let's go and see," he said. We immediately let go of each other and stood up. Now that I had someone with me, I wanted to look into this. I was much more determined. But I'm not necessarily saying that I'm glad the person I'm investigating this with is Kyouya.

"Obaa-chan?"

"Ma'am?" Kyouya called.

"Obaa-chan!"

The both of us echoed. We followed the sound of her screams, although we still weren't certain that they were even Obaa-chan's.

The sound got louder and louder as we walked towards a certain room. The odd thing was, the closer we got, it sounded more and more like a fan girl squeal.

Kyouya hesitated.

He pressed his ear against a door to a downstairs room. He then looked at me and nodded. I walked over, and we opened the door together.

"O-obaa-chan?" I gulped quietly. Her actions made her seem like the typical teenage girl.

"YEEEEE! Oh, Master Kyouya? Hiroshi-chan?" she turned around and stared at us in shock. The television screen in front of her displayed what appeared to be a recent episode of a drama.

"So this is what it was, huh?" I asked.

"Could you hear me squealing?" she asked worriedly.

We nodded our heads hastily.

"Oh, dear, I'm so very sorry. Please forgive me, it's just that I get very excited when I watch a new episode of Kaze Plus Kieko! It's adorable, don't you agree?"

Her attempted smile faded then. "I apologize, Master Kyouya. I had no knowledge of the fact that visitors could hear me through these walls. Please forgive me."

I looked at the stern expression on his face and nudged him, giving him a look which indicated that she needed a second chance.

"Please do not let this happen again, Ma'am. You've probably scared many visitors away."

"I can assure you I will not. I apologize once again. Have a good night, you two,"

"I can't believe that Hikaru and Kaoru made that entire thing up," I yawned, failing to express my anger as Kyouya and I walked up the steps.

"At least it wasn't real. And thanks to you, or your curiosity, I should say, we uncovered the culprit,"

"I'm not so sure you can call her a culprit; she didn't mean any harm,"

"Oh really now?"

"Really,"

"Are you sure?" he grinned.

"Ah, jeez," I tried to exclaim, struggling to keep awake. He only laughed at my attempts to do so.

We reached the doors to our separate rooms.

"Well, Hiroshi, goodnight. Get some rest, please,"

"You too, Kyouya-senpai," I yawned. I wasn't sure if I would be able to take this much longer; I needed to lie down before I passed out.

* * *

_**Third Person POV**_

"Hiroshi?" Kyouya gently asked.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm just... sleepy," she yawned drowsily.

Her eyes closed, causing her to fall forward. Fortunately enough, Kyouya caught her before she hit the floor.

He shook her lightly.

"Hiroshi?" he asked once again.

He held her shoulders away from him and sighed. However, he wasn't surprised. After all, it was a fairly tiring night.

Kyouya lifted her up, making sure her head was rested on his chest so she wouldn't fall over, and laid her down on her bed next to a sleeping Haruhi. He put an extra blanket on her and tucked her in snugly.

Hiroshi developed a steady, calm breathing pattern. She then smiled warmly, with her eyes closed, taking Kyouya by surprise. He was just a little taken aback, for some unknown reason, when she suddenly made that expression.

_What are you thinking about, you crazy woman?_ he wondered, brushing his hand against her warm cheek.

"Sweet dreams," he whispered, ruffling her hair up lightly. He then slipped out of their room and back into his own to catch some shut-eye as well.


	16. Story of the Past

—_ Chapter 16 _—

_**Story of the Past**_

* * *

"I can't believe that it was all something you guys made up," I sighed, narrowing my eyes Hikaru and Kaoru. "You know how much sleep we lost?"

The two of them laughed loudly in unison. "Well, we can't believe that you guys actually bought it!"

Kyouya and I were particularly tired that morning; the night at the ryokan before, we solved the mystery of the nightly screams that so many supposedly reported. The truth? The twins decided to pull our legs and fabricate the reason behind the story. They knew all along that the screams were only excited squeals from Obaa-chan, who turned out to be an Asian drama fangirl.

She was an avid watcher of Kaze Plus Kieko, which made Tamaki bounce up and down in sheer joy.

"Well, who wouldn't love such a series?!" he interjected happily, seemingly no longer angered by the scheme.

After pulling two DVD sets of the drama out of his suitcase as we were packing, he gazed at each of us with his infamous puppy eyes. "I own all four seasons. The female lead is just so mysterious and fascinating. I think I'm in love!"

"Boss, you've lost it."

"Don't say such things until you try to actually watch the series with me! You won't know how great it is unless—"

"Now, now," Kyouya cut in. "Our snowboarding instructors should be arriving at noon. We'll have enough time to arrive at the lodge and settle in before then."

He slid his glasses on and pushed them up appropriately. This action seemed just a tad unfitting for his overall appearance at the moment. His hair was messy, his eyes were half-lidded, and the bath robe he wore was tied loosely.

Tamaki's predicament seemed to be quite the opposite; I wouldn't be surprised if he snuck a hair in a personal stylist to make his hair perfectly tousled in time for everyone to wake up.

He raised an eye brow at me. "Hiroshi, I know what you're thinking."

"Huh?" I asked.

I hoped that Kyouya's mind-reading tendencies rubbed off on him throughout the years of their friendship, but this seemed to be the case.

"But you're wrong, my dear daughter," he said shooting me a charming wink that made me feel incredibly awkward.

"What are you talking about?"

He ran his fingers through his hair dramatically. "What a crime; what a beautiful crime, that God would make a star as bright as I," he cited poetically, nearly ready to prance around the room.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Why are you citing lines from the English version of 'Guilty Beauty Love'?"

If a college major for Asian drama and anime analysis existed, there's no doubt that he'd get scholarship offers from an infinite amount of universities.

"My point is," he began, "This head of hair doesn't need to be styled; it's simply this beautiful on its own."

"Sure, Tamaki-senpai," I replied, sitting back down to zip up my suitcase.

Now that we were in broad daylight and sunshine was pouring in through the large windows of our rooms, each of us weren't nearly as jumpy when Obaa-chan came in to bid us farewell until the next time she'd see us.

"I hope that each of you have enjoyed your stay," she said, her smile faded ever so slightly due to last night's events. "I'm terribly sorry for the trouble I've caused."

Kyouya-senpai didn't respond for a while.

"It's alright, Obaa-chan," I began. "At least we can say that we had an unforgettable experience here, right?"

I shot Kyouya-senpai a look that said I'd like him to agree with me, and he let out a sigh. "She's correct, madame," he said. "But please, just don't let it happen again to any other visitors; they won't know what all of the ruckus is about. We'll lose quite a large amount of money."

Kyouya-senpai didn't seem to catch sight of the frown I gave him; his eyes were still on a nervous Obaa-chan.

"Thank you, Master Kyouya," she said apologetically, bowing as he did. "Well, I just came up to make sure that all of you would make it back to the resort safely. Speaking of which, I do hope that all of you enjoy your snowboarding lesson for the day."

She then took a peek at the DVD set Tamaki-senpai had been holding the entire morning. They giggled and exchanged information about their favorite characters.

"Kieko, definitely," Obaa-chan said.

Tamaki-senpai's opinion clearly differed from hers when he'd gone off about how each of the characters were of equal quality with the exception of Sanada, the second most well-known male lead in the series.

"He obviously has the most skill in martial arts for when those gangs try to attack Kaze and Kieko."

"Which is why he and Izumi compliment each other so well!"

"Couldn't have explained it better myself!" he beamed.

He was about to continue his monologue about the differing relationships between each character to another, which would have probably taken hours if he'd spoken nonstop, but Hikaru and Kaoru realized this early on and dragged him by his hood out of the front entrance.

The Ryokan became smaller and smaller as we drove away in our luggage-packed vehicle, and a few minutes thereafter, the resort came into view.

The bright sunlight really piled onto the brightness of the snow, and I needed to put on a pair of dimmed ski goggles to heave my luggage up to the room along with nearly everyone else's. I refused to let our driver lug those things up the stairs; the resort's employees needed a break once in a while.

Shortly after dropping off our suitcases in our rooms, we got into our gear and headed out.

"This'll be fun!" Hani exclaimed once we reached our destination for the time being.

"Remember that keeping balance is important," said Kyouya-senpai. "Try not to lose it when trying out the steeper slopes."

We were able to see this when each of us paired up for seats for the lifts. An endless array of mountains and hills covered in snow could be seen from above, and although I was excited learn how to snowboard, there was just one little dilemma. I was afraid of heights.

If my feet were actually on a solid surface, I didn't mind too much as long as the leveling wasn't extremely steep. This wasn't the case, however; I was looking straight down at the depths below me and my feet seemed to be dangling in midair.

"Just don't look down, Hiroshi," Hikaru advised me.

"I-I'm trying," I stammered, resulting to shutting my eyes momentarily.

This only worked for a few seconds, and I opened them up again. My eyes had gone in a pattern of looking straight ahead, being shut tight once more, peering at Hikaru, looking down, and then looking straight ahead again until we were closer to the ground.

"Whew," I exhaled in relief as my feet finally hit the solid surface of snow.

"C'mon, Hiro-chan! You did great," Hani smiled as he was lifted right back up onto Mori's shoudlers. "Let's go and meet our instructors."

They all seemed to be very friendly, which helped to get rid of a little unease.

"Morning, everyone! The name's Matsuyama," the man beside the main instructor called out to everyone.

The head instructor stepped forward right after. "And I'm Ukita," he announced with a smile on his face. "Everyone ready to snowboard?"

He then demonstrated a few basic stances before we got started and allowed us to try the smaller slopes first. "That's it, bend your knees slightly like so," Ukita called out, crouching down just a little. "You're doing great as always, Ootori-san," he said.

Kyouya gave a light nod in reply. "That is much appreciated."

"Gonna give that one a shot this time?" Ukita asked him, pointing to the steepest slope in sight.

Grinning confidently, Kyouya confirmed the instructor's belief with another nod.

"Ukita-san!" Tamaki called out, smiling charmingly as he was in an entirely different stance from the rest of us. "How do I look?"

Ukita laughed. "That's not quite correct, Tamaki-kun. And just call me Ukita-sensei for the time being; that other honorific makes me feel like an old man."

Matsuyama led us to one of the many identical steep slopes a little farther away. "Alright, moving on," he said once the rest of us caught up. "We'll let you try going this much distance in these stances."

Although it took a few falls for me, it wasn't too bad after persisting for a while. I wasn't able to pull any fancy tricks, but I could manage to glide down normally.

Kyouya, however, glided with ease, warming up for the big slope by going down the smaller ones. After a while, he attempted to go down the steepest slope he'd been eyeing several times, but he couldn't glide smoothly for any of those tries; I assumed that this was his main goal. He kept falling, but he persisted.

"Hmm," Hani sighed, furrowing his brow at the others who seemed to be going faster than him. Although apparently experienced with agility in terms of martial arts, he was hesitant to go at full speed on a snowboard.

Mori must have seen the look on his little companion's face, and he lifted him up right off of his snowboard to put him onto his shoulders. Shortly after Hani let out a surprised gasp, Mori glided down one of the steeper slopes while managing to keep a tight hold on him.

"Morinozuka-san, that's dangerous!" Matsuyama called after them, waving his hands hastily in the air in hopes that he'd get their attention. "Slow down! Please don't get injured!"

Hani clearly felt as safe as one could feel on Mori's shoulders, however, and the cold winds continuously whipped through every strand of hair on their heads. The subtle smile that Mori wore on his face definitely complimented Hani's lively chanting and laughter.

The twins seemed to have some sort of planned routine. They glided happily along the snow, moving in identical patterns alongside each other. With this, they made an abstract but symmetrical pattern.

However, Kyouya still didn't seem as if he were going to give up on gliding down the slope too easily. He persisted, even though he kept on falling down.

Haruhi only sighed as Tamaki continued to fail hopelessly. The more princely he tried to be, the more he fell flat on his face in the snow. She rolled her eyes at him yet again and helped him to his feet. "Senpai, I'm pretty sure you aren't doing this correctly."

"What are you talking about, Haruhi? Of course I'm doing this right!" Tamaki declared, brushing bits of snow off of his pale face. "I'm just a bit rusty!"

"Like I'm buying that," Haruhi huffed, holding out a thermos of hot chocolate for him to drink from. "You'll need this."

A blush began to overtake Tamaki's cheeks at Haruhi's subtle action. "You really mean it?"

"Just take it," she replied bluntly.

His hand covered hers once he reached over to grab the container. "Thank you, my dear," he replied with a refreshing smile. It seemed that he still felt it necessary to sweep her off her feet for a moment. If snowboarding wouldn't do the trick, then maybe his charm would.

This caused Haruhi to blush furiously as well, and, doing her best to hide it, she snatched her hand away after Tamaki clearly had a firm hold on the thermos.

Kyouya was breathing heavily as he made his way over to us. With bits of snow visible on his jacket and in his hair, he grabbed the hot cocoa thermos out of Tamaki's hand and began to chug before the disheveled blond barely even took a sip.

"You alright, Senpai?" I asked once he took a seat next to where I stood.

Silence ensued. He stared blankly at the slope that he failed to to overtake, and a few long seconds later, his eyes traveled slowly to my face. "I'm fine," he replied shortly despite his expression of disappointment.

Ukita, noticing this, gave Kyouya a hearty pat on the back. "We'll try tomorrow, right? Let's call it a day," he said in an attempt to reassure him.

Unfortunately, Ukita's words seemed to have no positive effect and Kyouya stood up. He walked in the opposite direction without giving the thermos back.

"Wait!" Tamaki cried out, running in Kyouya's direction before we could do anything to stop him. "I was in the middle of drinking that and you just decided to—_GAAAAAH!_"

The rest of us stared with wide eyes as Kyouya furiously flung Tamaki into the air.

"_Tamaki-senpai!_" the twins panicked as they sprinted in an attempt to catch him.

* * *

"My back is killing me," Tamaki sighed with a grimace as all of us lounged by the fire place.

We helped him and the twins to heat packs, as all three had fallen into the snow in the flurry of events that took place earlier; the rest of us felt bad for laughing our heads off at the looks on their faces as we helped them up.

"Quite a fall you had there."

"You think?"

Kyouya was the only one not with us at the time; he headed straight for the room right beside us once we were inside again. He didn't seem to be in such a good mood after not accomplishing his goal. "What's the deal with Kyouya-senpai?" Kaoru asked a little too loudly.

"Kaoru! Shhh," Tamaki whispered roughly to him, pointing straight to the closed door.

"He won't hear us through that wall, boss," Hikaru replied, repositioning his heat pack on the side of his neck.

After a few moments of silence, the others changed the topic and began to have another series of more lively conversations, but I couldn't quit taking glances in the direction of Kyouya's room.

Hani peered over at me momentarily. "I think Kyou-chan's just a little grumpy today, Hiro-chan."

I ignored his statement. "I'll be back, you guys," I said quickly as I stood up to walk over to Kyouya's room.

Opening the door just slightly, I saw a strip of moonlight pouring across the floor, and Kyouya was staring straight out right of the window.

"You okay?" I asked nervously.

He turned his head towards me for a moment.

"Cheer Sushi up for us!" the twins laughed loudly.

I peered outside to raise an eyebrow at them and turned around to shut the door behind me.

"Why do you ask?" he asked me in reply, turning his gaze towards the moon once more.

"Look, if this is about that slope, there's always tomorrow to try again. Ukita even said so."

My words didn't do so much as shift his attention, and I walked right up to him. "You're worrying me a little; this isn't something you should beat yourself up over."

"Things just didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped. Plain and simple."

I raised an eyebrow at his unusually cold demeanor. "You still made it down. Give yourself some credit."

"You call that making it down? The technique was awful."

"Come on, now," I sighed.

He exhaled with an irritable expression on his face. "Maybe I have to have good technique, Hiroshi. Maybe I have to be perfect. Mediocrity won't suffice."

"There's no such thing as perfection," I said sternly, annoyed at the fact that he could be in such a bad mood over an issue that was so tiny.

"You just don't get the idea," he replied coldly. "You don't have a father who you have to prove yourself to in order to be considered a significant part of the family."

My face began to tense up. "Hey..."

"You don't have a father who looks at you like you're useless," he breathed out heavily in anger. He finally turned towards me with a frustrated expression on his face. "You just wouldn't be able to understand, anyways!"

The hurt in Kyouya's eyes and the sudden tone he'd taken put me in shock. "Why wouldn't I be able to understand?" I asked slowly.

"You just can't comprehend the pressure I'm under; you don't have a fath—" his voice immediately trailed off and he slowly clasped his right hand over his mouth right then and there.

"Have a what?" I said, gritting my teeth together in a hopeless attempt to calm myself.

"I... I didn't—"

"Sure you didn't," I cut in once my fists were clenched at my sides. "I don't have a father. I don't have a father to prove myself to, I don't have a father to watch me grow up or provide the even the slightest amount of guidance... I just don't have a father, period, Kyouya-senpai. Thanks for the reminder; I was just trying to help."

"Hiroshi—"

I stormed out and grabbed my coat as I paced in the direction of the balcony. I didn't have the time to tell the others not to worry; at the moment, I just needed to cool down.

Breathing out in irritation, I narrowed my eyes once more and the frustration began to build up. Once the balcony door was shut behind me, I moved closer to the ledge and peered down at the ground, wrapping my jacket around me more tightly.

Not too long after, the balcony door was opened and shut once more, and I could hear the light crunching of snow behind me as someone began to pace forward, and I turned my head to see that it was Kyouya. He'd already put on his own jacket at that point in time.

"Hiroshi," he began, taking a few strides toward me.

I exhaled in frustration once more and began to inch away from him, but his hand had already made its way to my shoulder. I pushed it away immediately.

"I'm fine," I said sternly, turning away and pacing back towards the entrance.

"Hiroshi, wait," he sighed, placing a hand in my shoulder and turning me back in his direction to face him.

"I already told you that I'm fine," I said irritably, gritting my teeth to keep my tears back. I kept my gaze on my feet.

I tried to shove his arm away from my shoulder, but it didn't work this time around. He had more strength than I did, and with that, he tilted my face towards his own with his other hand.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out that way."

Finally allowing his hand to drop, he bent a little forward, as if to show me that there was genuine concern in his eyes.

"It's not a big deal," I replied quietly.

After a few long seconds of silence, he let out another sigh and spoke up. "There's just... there's more to the story than you know."

I looked up him with a blank expression on my face and sniffled once, hoping that my decision to come outside hadn't landed me a cold.

Kyouya raised an eyebrow at me and removed the scarf from his neck. "Get inside soon. You don't want to be sick for tomorrow."

He swiftly put the scarf around my neck and took one last glance at me. Our breath floated up in little clouds in the air, and it was then that I noticed that the scarf gave off his smell. I gulped as he began to pace towards the door.

Nibbling on my lip, I paced forward just a bit as well so that I could place a hand on his arm, and he stopped in his tracks.

"Would you tell me about the story, Kyouya-senpai?"

* * *

We sat next to each other in front of the fire place once everyone was already in their rooms, and we did our best to keep our voices down so as to not wake them. The dim glow would have made me sleepy in any other circumstance, but because Kyouya was about to tell me more about himself, curiosity kept me awake.

"I'm sure you know that I'm not even third in line as heir to my father's business," he he began. "Yuuichi and Akito are already excelling enough as it is; surpassing the two of them isn't an easy task in the slightest."

"Are you determined?" I asked, turning my head to look at him.

After another long pause, a good-natured smile crept up onto his face, taking me by surprise. "I am," he replied. "But it isn't something to take lightly."

"And snowboarding down the highest slope applies to this?"

"My brothers have only been able to accomplish the second-highest slope with good technique," he explained. "I figured that if I beat them to the largest one with ease, I'd be able to come home and casually slip it into a conversation with my father. Seemingly insignificant details like these are actually more important than you'd think."

"No, I see the logic in that," I replied.

He turned towards me and pushed his glasses up just slightly. "You don't think it's strange?" he asked.

"It's fine, Senpai," I began. "It's just that you seem to be excelling in everything else; is the slope really so much of an issue that you're upset with yourself for it?"

"It isn't just my father," he responded quickly with a sigh.

Suddenly, he peered down and froze, as if he'd regretted saying such a thing. Something else was clearly wrong.

"What else?"

"It's nothing," he responded shortly.

His façade wasn't working this time around. I took another glance at him in hopes that he'd be the one to break the silence about it.

"I just don't wish to talk about it, Hiroshi."

With concern beginning to show prominently my eyes, I bit my lip and inched closer to him just a bit. "I understand if it's..." I began, and paused briefly. "If it's about your mom, Kyouya-senpai."

He turned his head to the side to look at me once more.

"I'm really sorry," I said quietly. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

He let out a nervous sigh. "I'm going to have to ask you not to tell anyone. I'm trusting you not to."

"I won't," I replied, resting my cheek on my knees so that I was looking at him. "I'm listening."

He proceeded in his explanation. "We took a family trip here with mother a very long time ago."

* * *

**_Twelve Years Earlier_**

"I bet I can beat you!" Akito shouted across the snow-covered slope.

"I'd like to see you try!" Yuuichi laughed in reply, speeding down the slope alongside him. They were neck-to-neck to the bottom of it.

Little Kyouya tried to snowboard down the tiniest slope with Fuyumi's help. "C'mon, Kyouya-kun, you can do it," she called out in an attempt to encourage him.

Irritated at his lack of success, he gave up and trudged towards the seat next to his mother and father.

"What seems to be the matter?" his father asked.

"I'm sorry," a five-year-old Kyouya said quietly in reply.

His beautiful mother stared at her youngest son with concern. The glow of her fair skin outshone the radiance of the white snow in its own way, and her long, pitch-black hair gave off a shine that made all other women envious. Her name was Keiko.

"I can't quite believe that you're beating yourself up, dear," she said to him with an amused tone of voice. She lifted him up so that he could sit on her lap. His disappointed expression still didn't disappear.

"Look at me," she giggled after giving her son a loving squeeze. He turned his little face to see her, and she continued. "You're certainly very silly if you don't think that you have what it takes," she smiled. "So have a rest and keep trying. And one day—" she pointed to the steepest slope in sight, "—you'll be able to snowboard down that slope with no problems at all."

His frustrated expression began to fade away, and his mom gave him a little pinch on his cheek.

"I know so, okay?" she smiled. "If you keep working hard at whatever you do, you'll be able to do it. I guarantee it; you can do anything you set your mind to. You can start with trying to make your way smoothly down that slope."

* * *

I was brought back to the present, and Kyouya continued to look down.

"She sounds wonderful," I told him with a sad smile on my face.

Kyouya still hadn't lifted his head. "That was our last visit here as a family," he began quietly. "Mom fell ill afterwards."

He continued with a sigh. "It's... it's bizarre that one's physical appearance can change in such a way within a month. Her skin became a sickly kind of pale and her arms... her arms were so thin," he muttered in a deep tone of voice, turning away from me slightly so as to hide his expression.

He exhaled once more and proceeded. "She never missed an opportunity to give us advice: work ethics; business success tricks; money management. But one day, when I was coming home from school, I could hear Fuyumi beginning to scream," his voice trailed off.

"Hey, you don't have to talk about it anymore if you don't want to," I said worriedly, gingerly placing my hand on his back.

"As soon as I rushed inside, for the first time in my life, I'd seen tears streaming down my father's face. Yuuichi and Akito looked at me with red eyes in a flurry of hyperventilation as well, and Fuyumi ran towards me and pulled me into her arms. She apologized so much... and my father began to shake his head from side to side; at that point, I knew that my mother was..."

"Kyouya."

I repositioned myself to kneel down in front of him, and for the first time, I was able to see the small streams of tears that were running down his cheeks. Despite this, he didn't sob; he didn't make a sound.

He looked up at me with sorrow in his eyes, and his expression shocked me greatly. I began to feel a small choking sensation in my throat at such a sight, and before I could do anything about it, a few tears began to run down my own cheeks.

"I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry," I said quietly.

"It's..."

His voice trailed off again and he couldn't talk any longer, and I took his hands in mine.

He hiccuped quietly once, and he pulled me into his arms for a tight embrace. It was only then that I could feel him shaking from the tears, which were seeping into my sleeve. I held onto him as tightly as I could.

"I miss her," he said.

"I know," I replied, still embracing him as tightly as I could.

Kyouya continued to hiccup and cry silently into my shoulder, and I allowed my own tears to stream out of my eyes, just as he did.

* * *

"C'mon, let's go, Takashi!" Hani-senpai laughed, excited for another day of being on Mori-senpai's shoulders as he glided down the hill at full speed.

"Mm," he smiled.

But Kyouya was already on top of the steepest slope, and he seemed to be more determined than ever. Maybe a good night's rest did the trick. I stayed to watch him and asked the others to do so as well. All of us, including the snowboarding instructors, had their eyes set on him in anticipation.

"You can do it, Kyouya-senpai!" the twins shouted.

"Yeah! Go get 'em, Kyou-chan!" Hani-senpai called out with a cheeky smile.

I awaited anxiously. He then began downward, careful of any obstacles in his path, at full speed. He barely missed a huge boulder and a tree.

He glided closer and closer to us, and he finally made it. There he was, standing right in front of me, breathing heavily. A few seconds passed, and then everybody cheered for him. He couldn't help but allow a smile to appear on his face.

"Great job, Kyouya-senpai!" Haruhi cheered.

Tamaki beamed and threw an arm around his exhausted friend. "Amazing; truly amazing!"

"You did it," I smiled.

"I suppose I did," he said casually, clearly trying to make it seem effortless. Looking up at the sky, he allowed another little smile to cross his face; his mother was probably watching him from up there.

I couldn't help but smile up at the sky as well, and after several more minutes, we headed back inside to pack up.

I stared out of the window one last time before we were about to leave: the beautiful glass window that took up about half of the wall. I became even more excited when the others told me that we'd take a trip again the following year.

"You finished in there?" the twins asked, sliding my door open. "We're about to head out."

"Yep."

"Alright, we'll see you outside."

" 'Kay," I replied, not taking my eyes off of the sunset reflecting off of the snow.

The jingle of keys interrupted my train of thought, and I turned to see Kyouya, holding up the keys that made the noise. "Finished saying your goodbyes to the room?" he laughed.

"Yes, as a matter of fact," I said, walking out of the door.

"Remember that we'll visit sometime again," he repeated, locking the door from outside.

We strolled down the hallway side by side. I assumed that we were the last two people that were going to board the private jet out of the group of eight.

"Hey Hiroshi," he began.

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

Thinking back to the previous night, I kept my face down and tried not to picture the way he hugged me so suddenly.

"It was nothing," I said.

"Hurry it up, cutie-patooties," Hikaru giggled in the distance.

I guess I was wrong about the two of us being the last ones to board; the twins had been waiting for us down the hallway.

My face reddened.

"_Gaaahhh!_" they yelped as they saw me chasing after them.

"You guys better—"

"But Pocky!" they shouted, calling me by a nickname I hated, "We don't think Sushi will mind!" they chorused.

I stopped to catch my breath, and brushed my hair out of my face to see Kyouya, smiling at me. I blushed madly, still thinking of how he'd held me when he needed consolation. I scowled. "Don't you look at me like that!" I shouted before running to catch up with the twins.

* * *

"So we'll visit again next year, right?" Hani-senpai asked hopefully on the flight back to Tokyo.

"We will," Kyouya replied.

The small blond beamed. "Usa-chan would love that!" he exclaimed, giving his pink stuffed bunny a squeeze.

I looked out the window as the snow-covered mountains and hills disappeared under the large white clouds. The mood on the private jet was so light and happy; there was no way that I'd feel depressed that we were leaving when I saw the smiles on everyone's faces.

"Hiroshi!" Tamaki exclaimed.

"Huh?"

"We're holding our annual Cherry Blossom Festival at Ouran Academy once the weather gets warmer, and we'll be needing you to design some clothing for us as usual."

"What kind of clothing would you like?" I asked as I grabbed my sketchbook from my bag and flipped to the next blank page. I wanted to begin designing immediately; I was so eager for the warm sunshine to melt the snow covering our school. Soon, flowers would begin to bloom in the academy's vast gardens.


	17. Festival Planning and Kick the Can

— _Chapter 17 _—

**_Festival Planning and Kick the Can_**

* * *

It was nice to return to music room three and resume club activities. The customers were excitedly anticipating the host club's return after a week on holiday during winter break at Kyouya's family resort. I could tell; as soon as the last bell of the school day rang, they came rushing to the somewhat abandoned music room just as we were about to enter. They were about three times as enthusiastic as they normally were when conversing with the hosts, begging to know what had taken place over the week-long holiday.

"So how did the trip go, Hikaru and Kaoru? I'd love to know," one guest, giggled.

"We did snowboard a lot, of course," replied Hikaru.

Kaoru continued. "Yeah, we had a pretty good time. But it was so cold out there; it was nice to come back to the suite after a long day."

"The jacuzzi was pretty amazing, too," Hikaru said smugly, winking at Kaoru as if to give him a cue. "Those nights were fun, weren't they, Kaoru?"

Kaoru had taken his twin's cue and went along with the story. He somehow managed to feign a blush. "H-Hikaru," he stammered, "I don't know if we should be talking about that in public."

Hikaru scooted closer to Kaoru and pulled him closer. "I'm sorry, but I just couldn't help myself. Why not share to the world how we express our love to one another, my dear twin?"

"Oh, Hikaru," Kaoru gulped. He blushed wildly as Hikaru tilted his chin up.

Haruhi and I smacked our hands onto our faces. We decided that it would be far too awkward to watch this whole 'forbidden brotherly love' act, and so Haruhi went off to speak to a few other excited customers while I went off towards my sketch pad. I needed time to brainstorm a few ideas for the cherry blossom festival.

Unfortunately, there still wasn't enough room for concentration. The customers speaking to the twins had still been letting out fangirly squeals every five seconds, and Tamaki was still making the guests squeal loudly with his sweet-talking.

"My gorgeous maiden! Oh, how I longed to see your beautiful face while I trudged through the blistering winds. It was too much, I tell you, too much," he sighed, which made the guest hyperventilate.

"Oh, Tamaki!" she breathed heavily.

I frowned and looked up from the blank piece of paper in my sketch pad. "If I hear one more 'Oh, Tamaki,' I'm going to whack him with a chair."

Hani-senpai then appeared in front of me. "Are you okay, Hiro-chan?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "I know that Tamaki wanted matching pink yukata, but I'm not sure what I can do to make them more unique."

"Just do what you normally do. I'm sure it'll be great!" he beamed.

I smiled in reply. "Thanks, Hani-senpai."

After the giggling and squealing from the guests died down, Tamaki had shut the double doors of music room three. He pressed his ear to one of the doors to make sure the guests were out of earshot, and then walked towards us. "Okay, everyone!" he exclaimed, "Time to discuss our plans for the festival!"

The twins yawned as they sat on the sofa next to each other, their eyes not moving from their gaming systems. "Senpai, we're too sleepy," they sighed.

"But we have to do our planning now," Tamaki pouted. He then pulled out a giant rolling white board that had a badly drawn cherry blossom tree on it: one that was almost as badly drawn as the cookie he sketched for the Christmas Bake-off.

"Tamaki?" Kyouya asked.

"Yes, Mommy?" he asked.

After sighing at the fact that Tamaki had called him by a rather awkward nickname yet again, he continued. "Did you use Google Translate for this as well?"

Tamaki peered over at the caption above the cherry blossom tree that read 桜蘭アカデミーの年次桜祭り！

"Of course not, Kyouya!" he laughed nervously.

Kyouya grinned. "In English, that translates to 'Ran Sakura Cherry Blossom Festival's Annual Academy.'"

Tamaki became red.

"Boss," the twins whined in exhaustion.

Tamaki hesitated for a moment, and then his expression suddenly transformed from hopeless to determined. He sighed with emphasis on his smug expression. "Then I suppose we won't be doing the fireworks show and the event."

The twins jumped up. "No fireworks?!" they shouted simultaneously, "Wait! We'll help plan the final event! We will!"

"Thought so!" the blond beamed, smacking the end of his yard stick onto a sloppy drawing of a firework. "Hiroshi and Haruhi need an explanation about the final event of the night. Will you do the honors, Kyouya?"

Kyouya pushed his glasses up just slightly and nodded. "At the end of the night of the festival, we hold a fireworks show. After the fireworks, an event takes place. It changes every year. This time around, we'll be showering the area with flower petals. Pink ones."

"Precisely!" Tamaki beamed. "It'll provide that romantic mood that we would like to end the night with."

He glanced at Haruhi momentarily after he made the reference to romance, but I don't think anyone else had seen it. The twins and Hani were too busy visualizing what the petals would look like, raining down on the scene, and Mori was smiling subtly at Hani's adorable and ponderous expression. Haruhi was now staring out the large window at the sunset, and Kyouya was scribbling a few other things down in his black notebook.

I nodded as he continued to explain the plans for the festival, and my eyes trailed back to the blank page in my sketchbook. I flipped back to the very first page and smiled; there were the very first designs I'd sketched for the host club. Even if these yukata designs were good, I figured I could make better ones than these for the festival. I puffed up my cheeks, exhaled, and began to lightly draw the simple figures of the hosts which would serve for my two-dimensional models. Pulling out different shades of pink, I began to shade in the areas of the roughly drawn material which needed color.

"So, any questions?" Tamaki asked.

Each of the hosts were now facing Tamaki. "No, sir!" they exclaimed.

I bit my lip to fight back a laugh.

"Okay!" he exclaimed. "Let's do it, then."

Kyouya-senpai snapped his notebook shut and checked his watch. "I suppose the meeting should be over for today, then. Good work," he said, packing his laptop into its case.

I put down my sketchbook on the table and got up to put my school bag on.

"Bye, Hiroshi!" everyone called out, opening the double doors to make their exit. "We'll see you tomorrow!"

I smiled, waved, and began to walk out.

Kyouya then got a hold of my wrist, taking me by surprise. "Whoa," I said quickly, jumping back so that my books now on the ground. I bent down and looked up to raise an eyebrow at him; I had no clue that he was still in the room.

"Sorry," Kyouya said, bending down with me to pick up my scattered items, "I was going to remind you that you forgot your sketchbook again."

"Again? I guess I've just been tired lately."

As I knelt down and reached over to pick one of my textbooks up, our hands met. My eyes snapped up, as did Kyouya's.

I gulped and felt my cheeks beginning to burn as I realized what little distance was between our faces. I quickly slipped the book out of his hands, picked up the rest of my books, and stood up.

"Here you are, Hiroshi," he said, holding my sketchbook out.

I took it. "Thanks, Senpai."

Placing his hand on the top of my head, he ruffled up my hair as I stared straight down at his shoes. "Maybe you should get more rest. Your cheeks are pink; do you have a fever?" he asked suspiciously. A tiny crooked smile crossed his lips once I looked up at him. "Or could it be that you're blushing?"

I narrow my eyes through the crimson shade that was showing on my face and pushed his hand away. "I'm not," I replied shortly. "See you tomorrow."

I walked quickly in the opposite direction and out the door. Just as I was about to turn the hallway corner, Kyouya's voice called out. "See you tomorrow, Hiroshi."

I gulped, turned around to wave half-heartedly, and continued to pace forward. I could just hear the slight smile in his voice.

That night, I sat up in my comfortable bed and watched a wedding program on the television in front of me. I rather liked the extravagant events that took place along with the gorgeous wedding dresses that the brides wore. In fact, whenever I design a gown, I have one of those flowing, white wedding dresses in mind. The happy couple stood together on the balcony, smiling at the camera. The camera zoomed out, and you could see the excited looks on the guests' faces. Huge bags that hung from the top of the large building then burst, and white flower petals flew everywhere.

In truth, it was an amazing sight. I wondered if maybe it would be like that at the cherry blossom festival, except fresh pink petals would be in the place of the radiant white ones. Maybe Kyouya and Tamaki weren't going to be wasting funding for the final event after all, but I'd have to wait for the actual festival to take place to figure that out.

* * *

The weather was no longer cold. There was, of course, a slight nip in the air in the mornings, but the days always ended up being sunny and warm. I'd miss the snow, but cherry blossoms were now budding and blooming on each of Ouran Academy's trees; a few stray pink flower petals even flew around school grounds every now and then.

"Hey!" Hikaru shouted across the field from me, breaking my train of thought.

"What?!" I yelled back.

"You ready?"

I gave a nod. We were all about to start a game of Kick the Can, something Haruhi and I used to play together when we were little to pass the time. The hosts drank so many soda cans for the game that they were burping all afternoon; it was funny to see people as serious as Mori and Kyouya do so. Hikaru and Kaoru hiccuped as they were rolling on the floor and laughing their heads off, burping as well every few seconds. But that was all over; it was time to play the game.

Tamaki stepped up and placed the can in the middle of the large field. "Alright!"

It was decided that he would be "it". He had to count to twenty, and let each of us hide in an area in pairs. Haruhi and the twins had to be a group of three. The twins arrogantly sighed that they wouldn't be nearly as stealthy with having to drag Haruhi around, but she furrowed her brow at them and threatened to beat them up. The twins, being themselves, of course, decided to make the completely wrong move, and Haruhi pounded her fists into both of their heads.

"One more word!" she huffed at the two of them.

They laughed nervously in reply, but as soon as she turned around, they began mischievously chuckling again.

"One," Tamaki began, his eyes now closed.

The twins threatened to tease me about the whole "sushi and pocky sticks" thing all day if I refused to pair up with Kyouya, and I gave them each a hard pinch on their arms, causing them to yelp. Tamaki's head jerked in their direction, and they furrowed their brows at me. I'd given away their present location. "Fine. Now we're even," I whispered roughly to them.

"Two!" he exclaimed.

Mori managed to silently but speedily make his way to a hiding place with Hani on his shoulders, and Haruhi and the twins disappeared. I looked around for Kyouya in a panic, but he wasn't anywhere in sight.

A hand, Kyouya's, I assume, wrapped around my wrist. My heart jumped, and I was about to scream, but his other hand had covered my parted lips. I caught my breath and turned to see the brunette staring at me with a slightly smug expression. I wanted to smack him for looking at me with that expression: the one that always somehow managed to make me look as red as a tomato.

He tilted his head towards the hedge maze, almost as if to say that we should go hide there. I gave him a weird look and jerked my head towards another hiding spot. He only sighed and pulled my wrist in the direction of the maze, but I didn't budge.

He raised an eyebrow at me. I did the same with him. He then stared at the ground, pensively, and an imaginary light bulb seemed to pop up over his head.

His eyes snapped open. He wrapped one arm around my shoulder and the other around the back of my legs, and he lifted me up bridal-style. I gasped, but he somehow managed to cover my mouth again, and he proceeded in dashing towards the hedge maze while I stared at him in shock.

"What are you doing?!" I roughly whispered as the green blur rushed by.

He only remained silent as he continued to run. I gave him another weird look, but he was staring straight ahead. He seemed to have eventually reached a stopping point, since he allowed my feet to reach ground again. He was panting lightly, and I felt dizzy.

"Are you serious?" I muttered while everything still a blur to me. Unfortunately, as a result of this, my legs felt like they were going to give out, and they did. I hit the ground.

"Hiroshi?" he laughed.

I opened my eyes to see him standing over me with his hand outstretched. My vision became slightly clearer in a fragment of a second, and I managed to give him the look again.

"I'm fine," I sighed, supporting myself on my elbows. My legs still felt a tiny bit weak, of course, so I attempted hopelessly to stand up again.

Kyouya-senpai's arms were wrapped around me from behind before I could even take a step further. "Do you mind?" I whispered roughly as my cheeks began to burn.

He raised an eyebrow at me and let go. "You didn't think that someone like you would fall down again?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I huffed irritably.

He didn't respond. Once he was aware of the fact that I wouldn't be falling down another time, he took my wrist in his hand again. He then walked me over to a small, dome-like structure supported by five thin marble pillars.

"Tamaki probably won't be able to find us here for a little while," he said.

Both of us sat side by side underneath the shaded area, and he turned to me with a ponderous expression. "Hiroshi."

"What?"

"What's your take on fireworks?"

"Fireworks?" I asked, looking at him questioningly.

"Yes."

"Er," I began, resting my elbows on the small circular table in front of us. "I saw them when I went to the local summer festivals with Haruhi; actually, I like them a lot," I said, allowing a smile to cross my lips. "Once, on my fifth birthday, I was even able to watch a show with fireworks that came in different shapes. It was really cool."

"Different shapes?" he asked.

"Why are you wondering?" I asked, puffing my cheeks up and resting my head on my hands again.

He instead replied with a different question. "So this was the only time you've seen differently-shaped fireworks at a show?"

I nibbled my lip slightly as I became little embarrassed. Someone like Kyouya has probably seen them several times. "Yeah," I finally replied.

After a few seconds of silence, I slowly turned to look at him once more, and he wore a slightly pensive expression on his face as his gaze met mine. What was this guy up to?

"Hiroshi! Kyouya!" we heard Tamaki call in the distance.

Kyouya and I glanced briefly at each other in a panic, and, without hesitation, he placed a hand on my shoulder and pulled me under the table alongside him. We waited in anticipation as Tamaki and the rest of the hosts neared us, and as soon as they seemed to have passed us, we exhaled in relief.

"And you wanted to hide behind a bush," he muttered.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Yes. Yes I did."

Mori-senpai's head suddenly peeked at us, under the table. "Found you," he said shortly as I jumped.

Kyouya chuckled at my reaction and stretched his hand out yet again once he was out from underneath the table. After I'd managed to get out from under the table as well, I took it, and he pulled me up so that I was back on my feet.

I shifted my gaze elsewhere to see that Haruhi was looking at Tamaki with an amused smile, and he seemed to be blushing. Hani looked as happy as could be on Mori's shoulders, and the twins were giggling to each other about something that I had no idea about.

When things were like this, I couldn't help but feel that everything seemed so fitting for the evening in its own way.

Slowly, Kyouya and I turned to face each other, and we kept our gaze on each other for a few long seconds. I had to admit that I had a lot of fun that day, and with this in mind, I couldn't help but allow a smile to cross my lips.

To my surprise, the corner of Kyouya's lips had tugged up just a bit to return it.

It felt like I was standing frozen in the moment. With the warm, gentle breeze flowing through the air, the sun beginning to set, and the laughter from the others, something about all of it just felt right.

The twins began to laugh loudly in the midst of staring at us. "Come along now, love birds!"

I narrowed my eyes at them and peered down to discover that my hand was still clasped in Kyouya's, and I pulled my own away as quickly as possible.

"You two really think you're funny, don't you!" I huffed as I clenched my fists.

They giggled mischievously in reply.

"Alright, then!" Tamaki beamed. "Who's up for another round?"

They began to walk off in the direction of the maze's exit. Another gust of warm spring air blew through our hair, and stray cherry blossom petals began to fly away as the sunset began to look more and more like a hand-painted one.

"What do you have in mind this time around for the pink yukata, Hiro-chan?" Hani asked excitedly?

"You guys will find out soon enough," I replied with a smile.

The rest of the afternoon was spent playing numerous rounds of Kick the Can. We were so tired by the end of it all; the laughing, the shouting, the chasing, and the brain power required to find a different hiding place each time really drained the energy out of us. But it was well spent in my opinion; there was no doubt that it was a memorable evening. It marked the start of my first spring with the hosts.


	18. Sakura Trees in Full Blossom

— _Chapter 18 _—

_**Sakura Trees in Full Blossom**_

* * *

The entire school buzzed with excitement and talk about the upcoming event: Ouran Academy's annual Cherry Blossom Festival. With that, winter had completely vanished, and so did the talk of the host club's trip that we'd previously taken. But we didn't mind that, of course. The fact that we had to keep ourselves from letting guests in on the plans for the festival was the main concern. Or, one of them, anyways.

They persisted in asking us what would take place after the fireworks. Kyouya told each of them, in a way that was as politically correct as possible, that they'd have to wait until the actual event to take place. It wasn't much of a wait, anyways, since it would be taking place the next day. Although, the actual reason he told them this was because he knew they would have to pay to get into the festival, and part of the profits were given to the host club.

The hosts and anyone in association with them, however, were granted free admission to the event. That includes me, any family members of theirs and mine, and a select number of others. While I really was glad that mom was going to be coming to take a look at the hard work we've put into it, I sure hope she doesn't say anything embarrassing to the hosts' family members. She loves telling everyone about awkward situations I was put in while I was little, given the fact that she's one of those mothers who thinks everything that their child does and says is adorable.

"Sheesh, these things are heavy," Haruhi sighed as the two of us carried tremendous amounts of bags up to music room three.

I would have given her a response, but I was far too winded myself, walking up the vast number of staircases with her. Relieved, we dropped the bags onto the ground as soon as we stepped into the music room, where everyone was already discussing the upcoming festival at.

"Good work," Kyouya told us as we plopped down on next to each other on the sofa. "Take a fifteen-minute break, you two, and then you can go and get the other bags,"

"More bags?!" we shouted. "How many of them could we possibly need?! The world will run out of pink flowers before we can fill all of these bags with their petals!"

"You'd be surprised," replied Kyouya, pushing his glasses up and then scribbling a few quick notes in his black book yet again.

Hani-senpai looked at us as he sat on Mori's shoulders. He put his finger to his lips. "Shhh!" he told us.

He then pointed to Tamaki.

Tamaki-senpai had a rather tranquil look on his face, as if daydreaming. I wondered if he was having another one of his shojo fantasies about Haruhi. But instead of continuing to just stand there and smile, he pulled away a large curtain which seemed to be covering another secret room. I stared pensively as he pulled away a white sheet that was covering some sort of structure. Underneath it was a beautiful grand piano. It looked like it had just been polished seconds ago. I thought it was a little strange and random for Tamaki to do such a thing, but it was a music room, after all.

He sat down on the bench in front of it and set one hand on a set of keys. He played a simple but beautiful melody for a tiny bit, and then joined the other hand in. He fastened the pace of the song. I stared at Haruhi for a fragment of a second to see that her jaw had dropped. So did mine. I had no idea that Tamaki could play piano, let alone the fact that he was so musically inclined. He then stopped at the end of the song, and the other hosts were clapping.

"Not bad, boss! Considering that you haven't played in a while!" Hikaru and Kaoru said simultaneously.

Tamaki smiled in reply. "You haven't heard me; I still practice once a week at home in my spare time,"

"Hey Tamaki-senpai," I said, "Isn't that... Sonata for Two Pianos in D?"

He nodded. He then became the normal Tamaki again, jumped up, and ran over to Haruhi. I could only stand there, bewildered at the fact that he'd just played a piece written for two pianos.

"I was surprised, too," Kyouya said.

I jumped and turned to face him. He suddenly appeared behind me, and managed to read my mind again. I swear, I sometimes wonder if he has a squad of mind-readers backing him up. He had a squad for everything else, so why not them?

"Really, now?" I replied after getting over my slight shock.

"Yes," he said, now looking over at Tamaki. "I came home to see my brothers and Fuyumi in tears from Tamaki's piano playing; we happened to have one in the room, and so he played a song he wrote. I was quite impressed,"

"Haruhi?" Tamaki asked.

Haruhi didn't respond. She was still staring at the piano, wide-eyed, her jaw still dropped. Tamaki decided to begin poking Haruhi's cheeks, as the twins did.

"Haruhi, Haruhi, Haruhi," the three of them repeated simultaneously.

I suddenly felt frightened for them. Haruhi then appeared to be back to normal. Despite this, Tamaki and the twins still continued to poke at her cheeks and call her name out right in front of her face.

That deadly blank stare then appeared on her face. "Get, off, now."

They stared with their eyes wide open at her. Tamaki went into his dark corner where a dark purple aura seemed to surround him. But the twins decided not to do so. They instead teased Haruhi about putting Tamaki, her "true love", into depression mode.

She blushed furiously at this. "Don't say that!" she huffed, pounding her fists into their head just like last time.

"Well, Hiroshi and Haruhi, it's time for you to get the rest of the bags," Kyouya reminded us.

We both glared at him in exhaustion, but then proceeded in running down the staircases again. I sure hoped that all of this work will be worth it.

The festival was about to start in just a few hours, and Haruhi and I were adding a few finishing touches to the overall appearance of the event. We spent quite a lot of time making sure the bags filled with flower petals were securely tied to poles on the rooftop, and even drilled them down. The hosts were dressed in the pink yukata I'd designed for them.

The fact that they were all wearing yukata allowed me to somewhat reminisce about the first designs I'd done for them. It was a pleasant surprise.

Tamaki wanted me to wear one, but of course, that was just too bad for him. I didn't want to be running around in that thing all day. The idea didn't come to mind until after the seamstresses had already delivered their yukata, anyways.

The sun shined brightly in the cloudless sky, but the weather was perfect; not too hot and not too humid. The warm breeze was just right.

Haruhi helped me hang the final lantern on a long string of them. "Right there?" she asked.

I moved a little further away to get a broader view of it. "Perfect," I said, nodding with a smile of satisfaction.

Tamaki was practicing his piano playing for the festival; he planned on wooing the guests yet another time. Mori lifted all of the heavy things that needed to be lifted with the help of Hani. Despite their extreme differences in height, they were both of the same strength. Meanwhile, the twins brainstormed a few twincest acts they could incorporate into the event while hosting it. And Kyouya, of course, was making final calculations and estimations about the number of people attending and the profit that we'd most likely receive.

Sadly, most of the hosts' parents weren't able to make it. In fact, nearly none of them did. But my mom was the first to arrive, and she was walking with another lady. She looked about the same age as my mom and her hair was styled just like Hikaru's and Kaoru's, except her hair was slightly longer. She wore a blazer and a pencil skirt. I was in for a huge shock; as she got closer, I recognized more of her features.

Hold on, is that Yuzuha Hitachiin? I thought, my eyes widening in shock afterwards. She was my favorite designer, and someone I really looked up to ever since I was little, when I began to draw my first clothing ideas with a fat crayon.

"Hey, mom!" Hikaru and Kaoru beamed simultaneously.

"She's your mom?" I gulped. I'd just realized that the twins had the same last name as Yuzuha, but I thought that Hitachiin was somewhat of a common name.

They nodded. My mom, giggly and smiling, turned to face me. "Look who I bumped into along the way, dear!"

I stared in shock as Yuzuha walked up to me with a bright smile on her face. "Hello, darling! You must be Hiroshi Katou,"

I'd nearly gone into cardiac arrest at the way she'd said my name so welcomingly.

"Th-that's correct, Ma'am," I managed to stammer as I shook her outstretched hand.

She giggled. "No need to be nervous, sweetheart. Hikaru and Kaoru have told me quite a lot about you. I hear you're into designing,"

I nodded shyly, still shocked at the fact that Yuzuha Hitachiin, _the _one and only Yuzuha Hitachiin, was standing right in front of me.

"Well, you're quite good! You really do have talent, Hiroshi. Have you considered designing professionally?"

"Yes I have,"

She smiled. "I see the designs you do for the hosts. With your talent, you really do have the potential to become a designer as well-known as I am. And I don't just say that to anyone,"

I shuffled my feet nervously. "You're a really great designer also, Hitachiin-san,"

"Why thank you, darling. Tell you what, I'll let my business know about you. You'll have a career in the fashion world in no time! Once you graduate from university, you'll be all set,"

"Hitachiin-san, you really don't have to do this," I nervously replied.

"Actually, Hiroshi, we're on the lookout for designers who are naturals these days. Not many are. We think you're quite well-suited for the career we need to fill,"

"Sorry, but what position is it, exactly?"

"Well, we know that in the future I'll be needing an assistant for the line I'll be releasing then. I want this one to be perfect, and I have reason to believe that with someone like you assisting me, it will be perfect,"

I looked over at my mom, who was grinning ear to ear and nodding as a sign of approval.

Yuzuha continued. "You can be my assistant from then on,"

I looked at the rest of the host club. They were all smiling at me, especially the twins.

"That would really be awesome," I said.

"Then I'm hoping you'll accept my next offer. Would you mind taking an internship at my business? You could do it during a few of your summer vacations until it comes time for you to be my assistant,"

I only stood and stared at her, my mouth wide open from smiling. She peered at her watch. "I'm so sorry, but I have a crucial meeting I need to attend. I apologize that my stay was so short, but I just wanted to see my babies before heading off again," she said, walking over to Hikaru and Kaoru to give them each a big hug and an affectionate pinch on the cheek.

"Have fun, all of you! And Hiroshi, please consider taking the internship," she smiled one last time as she waved. She became smaller and smaller in our vision as she walked towards the gate, and then disappeared in the distance.

Mom had to head off to work again, but she just wanted to get a glimpse of the festival before it began to crowd with host club guests and students, and even some people from other schools nearby. My satisfaction was fulfilled for that day; mom said she was extremely proud of me and gawked nearly everything she caught sight of from where she was standing.

As she waved us goodbye, people began to pour in. Soon the aroma of delicious Japanese food filled the air. Nearly everyone had either noodles, sushi, or some kind of dessert or food in their hand. It was like the lantern festival Haruhi and I went to when we were little, except one could tell that this one had decorations and surroundings were much more expensive than the other.

Haruhi eyed a small stuffed panda bear in one of the corners of an activity booth. One had to win the game in order to get it. Tamaki saw this, of course, and he made every attempt to win it. But Hani-senpai was the one who was more skilled in the game, so he won it for her instead. It nearly caused Tamaki to go into depression mode again, but I stopped him. "Win another one for her! Sheesh, Senpai!" I sighed, "She'll appreciate the thought. Trust me, I've known her for quite a while, and I think you know that,"

He looked over at the smile on Haruhi's face from getting that bear from Hani-senpai, and then looked at me with what seemed to be determination. He ran over to the game booth again and hastily handed the money to the person running it.

"Starlight, _ki—ick!_" he shouted, sending the ball flying towards the target. It wound up hitting it right on the spot, and Tamaki happily bounced up and down as the man in charge handed him another one of the stuffed pandas.

"Smile," I heard a voice behind me say.

I then heard the loud snap of a camera, and turned towards it. "What are you doing with a camera, Kyouya-senpai?" I asked.

"Tamaki put me in charge of the picture taking for the event," he said, holding up the fancy camera.

"Didn't he say he was going to do that?"

"Well, I actually suggested that I do it instead. Tamaki would probably fill the memory up with pictures of Haruhi,"

It was then that I peered over at Tamaki again. He was beaming, proud of his accomplishment, holding up the stuffed panda in front of Haruhi's face.

"Tamaki-senpai sure is one happy kid when he's around Haruhi, isn't he," I smiled.

"So are you some kind of romance expert now?"

I turned towards Kyouya and raised an eyebrow at him. He only responded by grinning slyly, patting my head, and walking off in the other direction to take more pictures of everything taking place at the event. Hikaru and Kaoru did manage to make the guests squeal for the fifth time that day with their multiple acts.

The hosts did their job quite well for the festival, I must say. Haruhi could merely be standing near a group of girls, and they'd run up to her at the sight of her femenine appearance (although they thought she was a boy, which was the reason they were so infatuated). "Haruhi!" a guest giggled, "You look so cute!"

"Thanks," Haruhi shyly smiled.

This caused hearts to appear in their eyes. I wondered what they would do if they knew she was a girl.

"Takashi, will you play this game with me here?" Hani-senpai asked Mori.

"Mm," he nodded in reply as he stared at the pond in front of them.

Each of them got a fishing pole, but the fish were difficult to catch; more difficult than they would have expected. Despite the fact that they were both of the same skill, Mori had caught one first. He was handed a teddy bear, but Mori looked down at Hani and handed it to him instead.

Hani beamed at the bear. "Thanks so much, Takashi!" he smiled as he jumped into Mori's arms.

Girls sighed dreamily at the fact that Mori had done such a thing. But even more girls surrounded the piano that Tamaki was sitting at. They gawked and even became teary-eyed at the music he was playing. But soon, as the amount of daylight decreased, so did the loudness of the crowd. It all came to a quiet bustle.

The sight of dusk was quite an amazing one, and people began to buy as much food as they could to snack on during the fireworks. All of the grassy areas on the entire campus were taken up by people, who set blankets down and were lying on them. They stared up at the sky, where just above the horizon there was a faded shade of pink. The moon's presence was with us, but not fully. It began to turn into a very dark shade of blue.

Tamaki hastily motioned me up the first flight of stairs. "The fireworks are about to begin, my dear daughter!"

I slapped my hand onto my face. "Tamaki-senpai, that won't be for another fifteen minutes or so."

"Hiroshi," he whined.

"Fine, fine," I sighed, and began my walk up to the rooftop.

A significant amount of time did go by, however. By the time I reached the door, I still had five minutes to stare out into space alone. Just me, myself, and I.

I pulled the door open, and the warm breeze hit my face once again. To my dismay, I soon found out that I wasn't going to be watching the fireworks by myself. Kyouya was standing right there, at the marble railing on the edge of the rooftop. His camera snapped again before he turned to face me.

"Good evening, Hiroshi,"

"Hey," I sighed.

I walked over and stood next to him. Dusk was fading into the starry night sky. We both looked down at Ouran Academy's small canal, which was located so many stories below us. It was filled with clear, blue water tonight, and lit with small floating lanterns. A few couples had set one off each into the water together, and then snuck back to their places on the grassy areas to catch the show. "So what are you doing up here?" I asked.

His eyes didn't budge from the camera, and he continued taking pictures while he replied to me. "I thought that this was the best time of the day to come up here and take a few shots of the overall scene from above."

"Hm," I nodded, "Well, I'm just up here to press that button over there,"

The both of us looked over at a large red button embedded into the marble. This was probably one of the best investments Tamaki decided to make for the host club in a while. It made things much less complicated. With the push of that button, all of those bags filled with pink flower petals would burst and fans would begin to blow them everywhere. The fans, you see, would distribute the petals evenly everywhere. It would assure that the petals would fly up, backwards, and rain down on the rooftop as well.

With that, a single firework danced up in the sky and exploded along with a few others. The show had begun, and Kyouya's camera snapped away.

I couldn't help but stare in amazement at the multiple colors bursting in the sky. They illuminated the entire scene with each of their flashes. For quite a while I had a smile on my face, and my cheeks began to hurt from it. So it faded into an expression of simple contentment, and I looked over at Kyouya. He happened to be staring right back at me.

He looked at his watch. "It should be about time for them," he muttered. "Look, Hiroshi," he said, tilting his head a little forward.

I looked up into the sky again. Several fireworks shaped like cherry blossoms exploded in the sky. "Woah!" I breathed, "How..."

"I pulled a few strings, of course. We were the ones who planned the fireworks, after all,"

"But I heard that they're pretty hard to find; you must have paid a fortune," I muttered frustratedly at myself.

But before I could make another remark about how he should have saved their money for something else, he had me turned towards him so that my face was right in front of his.

"Kyouya-senpai?" I gulped.

He only smiled as more cherry blossom-shaped fireworks exploded in the sky. My heart pounded. In fact, I felt as if it were going to jump right out of my chest.

He pulled out what appeared to be a cherry blossom out of his pocket and tucked it behind my ear, and my chin was still in his other hand. "You at least deserve some credit for all of your hard work," he said.

I bit my lip and blushed madly. The fireworks in the sky had come to a stop. Only the breeze lingered in the air, and Kyouya closed his eyes. I only closed my eyes halfway before the crowd started chattering again. My eyes snapped open. "Sh-shoot," I stammered, "The petals. Right. The petals,"

I ran over to the large red button and gave it a push, wondering why on earth I hadn't stepped back when we were in that stance.

"Hiroshi," he said, with a sudden tone of worry in his voice.

"Eh?"

"Did Tamaki mention that the force of the fans was going to be strong?"

"How strong?" I gulped.

"You might wanna move," he hastily said, causing me to panic.

I ran again, crashing right into him just as the bags burst and the fans began blowing insanely strong wind everywhere. It died down after a few seconds. I opened my eyes. I was lying on top of Kyouya, who had his eyes closed. "Senpai?!" I shouted.

He didn't open his eyes. Don't tell me I killed the dude just by falling on him...

"Senpai!" I shouted again, "Wake up! Are you alright?!"

He opened his eyes halfway, and a slight grin formed on his lips. "I might need CPR,"

My eyes widened at the thought of it, and my blush deepened yet again. "You moron!" I scowled, giving him what I often gave the twins nowadays: a hard pinch in the arm.

"Ouch!" he halfheartedly laughed.

I immediately stood up, but my bitter expression didn't last for long. The sky, it seemed, was filled with flying pink flower petals. It was like that wedding program I'd watched that one night. I smiled again at the sight of it.

I heard another loud click of Kyouya's camera, and I turned to look at him. "Did you just take a picture of me?"

"You should smile like that more often, Hiroshi," he said.

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"When you see someone you care about genuinely happy, it's a pleasant feeling, isn't it?"

My face heated up for the tenth time tonight, and we both stared up into the sky together; up at the seemingly endless shower of flower petals. I let my hand drift to the cherry blossom Kyouya had placed in my hair. Now that I thought about it, it was nice to see Kyouya smile genuinely as well; the way he was right now.

The twins suddenly burst through the door. "Hiroshi! Kyouya-senpai! That was amazing! You guys are so lucky, getting an awesome view from up here and, uh, you guys..."

Their voices trailed off once their infamous michievous grins had taken over once again. "You love birds are in the middle of a sushi and pocky sticks moment, aren't you," they giggled.

One could probably imagine what had happened next.

I chased them up and down the hallways and staircases late into the night to prevent them from saying anything else that would be embarrassing. I must admit, though, it was a rather memorable day, whether it involved me running all around Ouran Academy barefooted, the festival, or maybe even the overall family-like mood that seemed to fill the area when all of us were merely being together.

After the commotion was over and the twins, Kyouya, and I were making our way down the steps, I came to the conclusion that the fireworks and the shower of flower petals were definitely the most memorable things. Even though I knew I'd been amazed at them because of their beauty and extravagance, I wondered, just for a second, if I might have enjoyed those things more so because Kyouya was by my side at the time. But I did shake my head from side to side and bang it up against the nearest wall for even considering that thought.


	19. And So we Met Kirimi

— _Chapter 19 _—

_**And So We Meet Kirimi**_

* * *

The doors of Music Room Three opened once again, and a small figure stood in the doorway. It walked towards us and merely stared at all of us with no emotion to her expression. The hosts, now dressed in the police officer attire I designed, stared in shock at the little girl standing before them.

She wore her blond hair in high pigtails and had the largest blue eyes I've ever seen in my life. We weren't so much in shock at the fact that she'd suddenly appeared before us, but rather the two words that had just come out of her mouth. We jumped and nervously asked her to repeat herself. She lifted her tiny hand and pointed a finger at all of us.

"It's a reverse harem!" she shouted despite her monotone facial expression.

Hikaru and Kaoru bent down to her level and laughed nervously. "Does she even know what that means?"

Reverse harem, you see, is when there is a group of people consisting of all males, except for one female. That one female was me, although the little girl probably would have thought differently if she knew Haruhi was really a girl.

"It's debauchery!" she exclaimed, "Yay! Yay! There's debauchery here!"

All of us gasped and jumped back.

"What's a little girl like her doing, learning about such words?!" Tamaki gasped after all of us did.

"Isn't debauchery—"

"The act of seducing someone, or something of that sort," Kyouya said quietly and awkwardly, raising an eyebrow to the girl.

She pointed to Kyouya. "You're the glasses type,"

He gulped as she continued.

"You're the boy Lolita, and you're the stoic type, and you're the bookworm!" she beamed, pointing to Hani, Mori, and Haruhi one at a time.

"Twincest," she sighed dreamily as she pointed to Hikaru and Kaoru.

"She's been reading too much shojo manga!" the twins exclaimed, "We've gotta find a way to get those images of fan service out of her scarred mind!"

Just as the girl opened her mouth to repeat herself, Tamaki quickly bent down to her level and placed his hand on her mouth. "What might you be doing here, sweetheart?" he asked sweetly, trying to cover his shock.

She took his hand off of her mouth. She put her own tiny hands to her face, and tears started forming in her eyes. She beamed. "Big brother!" she yelled, jumping into Tamaki's arms. "It's really you!"

Tamaki has a long lost sister?

"You never told us you had a sister, Senpai," Hikaru said.

"What? I don't; I'm definitely an only child! As far as I know, at least," he laughed nervously.

All of us stared at the two. They did look like they were related, whether they really were or not.

"I'm so happy I found you!" she exclaimed again, looking at him with her big blue eyes.

Tamaki's confused expression soon disappeared and turned into one of extreme adoration. He smiled so much that his eyes looked like they were closed. "Aw, you're so cute!" he giggled.

He lifted her up in the air and spun her around, completely forgetting his previous confusion. He beamed. "Tell you what! From now on, I will be your big brother!"

Haruhi and I stared at each other blankly, wondering if Tamaki had really made such a bold statement.

A door then creaked open. It wasn't the entrance to the music room, but rather a door we've seemed to have completely forgotten about; the door that Tamaki thought was some sort of secret passageway to the fictional world of Narnia. That's right, it was the doorway to the black magic club room. A man with long, blond hair and blue eyes just like the little girl's came out. There was no way someone like him would be in the black magic club; or so I thought.

"Kirimi!" he exclaimed in his dramatic voice, now running towards the little girl.

She looked quite terrified as she clung onto Tamaki.

"Oh, my sister, how I've longed to see you," he said.

"You're not my big brother, are you!" she shouted, clenching her small fists and creating wrinkles in Tamaki's shirt.

The man gasped and theatrically fell onto the floor, a black aura now seeming to surround him. A woman came bursting out of the black magic room. She wore a black Victorian-style gown. I assumed she was a member of the black magic club as well.

"You forgot your cloak, Master Umehito," she said, and placed a hooded cloak onto him.

He suddenly stood up. Black hair now covered his eyes, his hood seemed to cast a shadow over his grinning face, and he was holding up a cat puppet that looked ever so familiar.

"Nekozawa-senpai?!" all of us gasped.

Just as Tamaki let Kirimi to her feet again, Nekozawa hunched over her. "Why hello, there, Kirimi. Look here, someone wants to say hello," he said, holding up his infamous cat puppet Bellzenef.

"Eek!" Kirimi squeaked. "Big brother, save me from the monster!"

Nekozawa made a dramatic gasp while running towards the exit. By the time he seemed to be sprinting down the hallway, cape and all, we could hear the echoes of his sobs.

The woman who had previously placed the dark cloak on Nekozawa the seemed to have gotten into some sort of story-telling mode, since out of nowhere, a spotlight seemed to be hovering over her.

"You see," she began, "Master Umehito and Kirimi are polar opposites. So despite the fact that they're siblings, they could never be near each other! Kirimi is far too scared of the dark to be next to Master Umehito in his regular dark setting, while Master Umehito would be smoldered by the bright and sunny environment that Kirimi places herself in."

The twins looked at her with weird expressions on their faces. "So you mean Nekozawa-senpai is Kirimi-chan's—"

"Indeed!" the lady interjected, although I had no idea about whether or not she even knew what the twins were going to ask. "You see, there's a legend stating that every one-hundred years, a child in the Nekozawa family is born accustomed to and consumed by the darkness. That child turned out to be Master Umehito. And so, he had to fly to Japan all the way from Russia, where his royal family lives,"

Our jaws dropped yet again. "Nekozawa-senpai is a Russian prince?!" each of us exclaimed simultaneously.

She sighed dramatically and wiped a small black cloth on her forehead despite not sweating a drop. "Yes, indeed! Master Umehito and Kirimi are like the Romeo and Juliet of the Nekozawa family,"

"Romeo and Juliet?" Haruhi asked, raising an eyebrow to the lady. "But Nekozawa-senpai and Kirimi are brother and sister."

"Wouldn't that be incestuous?" the twins asked simultaneously.

I gave the twins a weird look. "Like you guys can talk,"

The lady continued. "It's just tragic that Kirimi and Master Umehito can't be together, and that Kirimi has been looking for her big brother for a while now. Since she can't be near him, we tried to comfort her by reading her fairytales in hopes of fulfilling her daydreams. But we soon ran out of fairytales to read to her, so we began reading volumes of shojo manga with princely characters in them instead!"

Each of the hosts and I (except for Tamaki) looked at each other in shock, remembering how she'd been jumping up and down in front of us while shouting words like debauchery and reverse harem.

"Shojo manga?" Kaoru asked, his eye twitching slightly.

"That's where she got those words from!" we all exclaimed.

In the midst of it all, Tamaki was lifting Kirimi up in the air and spinning her around. But once Haruhi began to talk, he stopped and listened carefully to her.

"It must be pretty difficult," she said, looking out the window. "Having to be apart from your brother or sister because the two are so different is just... it's just not a good thing,"

Tamaki then looked into Kirimi's big blue eyes again, and then put her down. "Look, sweetheart," he said, "I'm not the big brother you've been looking for. Your real big brother is an actual prince who's even more handsome than I am! And if you keep looking, I guarantee you'll find him,"

Kirimi thought carefully as she looked up at Tamaki. She gave an understanding nod, and that's when Renge entered the room. No, she didn't enter through the door like a normal person would. She made her usual attention-grabbing entrance by coming up out of the middle of the floor on a large revolving platform.

"Ohoho!" she laughed repeatedly, giving all of us a sense of doom.

She finally spoke after her odd fit of somewhat evil laughter. "Don't think I haven't been listening in, you guys! I've come to the conclusion that Nekozawa-senpai will be needing my special training. We need to get him accustomed to the light! Nekozawa-senpai, get over here!" she shouted, somehow summoning the black magic club president into the club room once again.

"Y-yes?" he nervously stammered, peeking in through the doorway.

Renge smiled evilly and yanked him into the music room, closing all of the curtains and shutting out each source of light. It was then that Kirimi started to cry.

"It's too scary and dark! I don't wanna be in here!" she sobbed.

Tamaki pointed to Haruhi and I. "Go entertain her!" he said, throwing each of us a large pile of shojo manga.

"Oh no, not this stuff," Haruhi gulped.

Kirimi persisted in sobbing. "I don't wanna be here!" she cried repeatedly.

I sighed, feeling bad for her. No one could blame a little girl for being scared of the dark. "Alright, Haruhi, let's go," I said reluctantly.

One of Kirimi's hands was clasped in mine, and the other clasped in Haruhi's. We struggled to see where we were going; our hands were full with shojo manga and Kirmi's small fists. We managed to find another empty room just in time; our arms couldn't take it any longer. Kirimi sat down on the sofa as we plopped all of the books down on the floor. Haruhi and I stared wide-eyed at the titles of these well-known manga volumes. They were filled with fan service and harem, and yes, debauchery as well.

Haruhi and I looked at each other nervously, and then towards Kirimi, who was smiling brightly as she sat in between us. Kirimi then pointed to a manga volume with a single woman on the cover, surrounded by about fifteen men. She beamed. "Reverse har—"

"Alright!" I laughed nervously before she could finish the word.

"Let's get to reading," Haruhi sighed, wincing just as she opened the volume to the first page.

There was yet another illustration that exhibited debauchery. Kirimi stared blankly at us. "You play the girl characters, and you play the guy characters!" she exclaimed, pointing to me first, and then Haruhi.

Haruhi and I smacked our hands onto our foreheads once again. This was going to be a long day for us; or that was what we thought. It wound up being three days in a row; we'd come directly after school to see her since she demanded we read more shojo manga to her.

I exhaled, not wanting to read the next line. "Now that I've made these fine men my love slaves, I wonder who I will choose to entertain me tonight."

"Read it with more expression!" she sighed, her tiny fist in the air.

Tears began to well up in her eyes then. Haruhi and I hastily waved our hands in front of her, telling her we'd promise to read it with more enthusiasm. She only continued to sob. "When will I get to see my big brother?"

We both sighed. "Alright, alright,"

I carried her all the way back to music room three, her head rested on my shoulder. Haruhi walked beside me. "She sure seems to like you,"

I half-laughed. "You really think so?"

"Of course I like mommy," she said, shocking both Haruhi and I. She continued to speak. "Don't you guys pretend you're family? It happens in some shojo manga!" she smiled brightly.

I thought about when Tamaki had referred to both Haruhi and me as his daughters. "Er, yes, we do,"

We made our way back into the music room. I allowed Kirimi to stand, although she immediately started sobbing again. "It's so dark here!"

Tamaki looked over at us. "Haruhi, Hiroshi, I thought I told you guys to—"

"For three days straight!" we both exclaimed.

Renge shushed us and brought Kirimi over, who was shaking in fear. "It's okay!" Renge said with more of an excited tone than a charismatic one. "Your big brother is right over there!"

Nekozawa had his back towards us, and then shined a bright flashlight into his face, gasping in shock. Tamaki said that he figured Renge was doing an alright job by getting him accustomed to the light. Once he finally settled down from what seemed to be hyperventilation, he slowly turned towards us.

"Hello, Kirimi," he said.

What we expected to happen was the polar opposite of what did happen. Nekozawa, instead of looking like the prince people claimed he was, looked like he was in a horror movie. The lighting was horrible. Shining a flashlight upwards from under your chin while all the lights were out made him look like a floating head. Kirimi screamed and cried at the sight of it, and Nekozawa had once again lost all hope.

"Tamaki," he sighed, hunched over. "You should take my place,"

Tamaki raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean, Nekozawa-senpai?"

"I mean that you should just pretend that you're really her brother. Things are just easier that way," he replied gloomily.

Tamaki walked over to him. "That's just ridiculous. I'm not her real brother! If you really care about Kirimi, you need to work towards becoming the big brother she's always dreamed of. And you'll do whatever it takes to win her over!"

His words seemed to inspire Nekozawa, since he got up, brushed himself off, and turned towards us with a determined expression. "Okay!"

"Yay!" squeaked Renge. "Haruhi and Hiroshi, Nekozawa-senpai just needs a little more training! Could you watch Kirimi for the rest of the afternoon?"

Haruhi and I both gulped.

Tamaki turned to Kyouya. "Would you please help Hiroshi out, Mommy?"

Kyouya sighed yet again at Tamaki's love of playing house.

"Mommy?" Kirimi wondered in the midst of her fear. "But isn't he a boy? He should be called daddy, not mommy!"

Kyouya stared wide-eyed at Kirimi, who was standing before him.

She smiled brightly. "Wait a second," she began, looking over at me. "Yay! Now mommy has a husband!" she exclaimed, pointing to me and then dragging me over to Kyouya.

The twins grinned, and pulled Kirimi over to them, whispering a few inaudible things to her. She merely nodded at each of them.

Hikaru and Kaoru then looked back over at us, the grins returning to their faces. "Looks like mommy and daddy are going to have to entertain Kirimi for a little while,"

"Come again?!" I gulped.

"Go and take her for a walk or something. We still have some training to do, as I've mentioned!" said Renge.

Kyouya and I stared at each other with weird expressions on our faces, and then down at a beaming Kirimi. After a long pause, she pouted. "Why aren't mommy and daddy taking me for a walk? Let's go, guys!" she squeaked enthusiastically, dragging the both of us towards the door.

"Guess this means I won't have to be watching her, then," Haruhi said.

"Yes!" Tamaki smiled. "My daughter is going to be staying with me for the time being! Don't worry, I'll protect you, my dear!"

"Get off, Senpai!" I could hear Haruhi shout as Kirimi ran us down the hallway.

"Kirimi, slow down," I breathed heavily shortly before we all reached the front entrance of the school.

"We're here!" she smiled.

Kids sure did have loads of energy; she managed to drag us halfway around the perimeter of the entire building (or number of buildings). "Do you have a garden?" she excitedly asked, looking up at Kyouya.

He nodded. "Why yes. We have a wide selection of—"

"Kyouya-senpai, I think she just wants us to take her there," I said, although looking at him with exhaustion.

"Very well," he said, proceeding.

"Wait just a second there!" said Kirimi, pointing up to the both of us.

We stared at each other with confused expressions before looking down at her. "Yes, Kirimi?" I asked.

"Don't mommies and daddies hold hands?" she wondered.

I quickly replied. "Oh, that's not necessar—"

"Yes, they do," replied Kyouya, cutting me off.

My eyes shot towards him, and I gave him a scowl. He wore a grin on his face while trying to pull my hand, but I snatched it away. This, unfortunately, had caused tears to well up in Kirimi's eyes. "But mommy!"

She reminded me of Tamaki, whining to Kyouya. I hastily bent down to her level. "Alright, I'll hold hands with... him," I huffed at Kyouya.

"What's wrong with holding hands with your own husband?" he laughed, although I could see a smirk on his face.

I could feel my cheeks heating up; he'd said it so casually, as if I were actually his wife. I wanted to pound his face in so badly for that.

"I'm not your—"

"Look, you're making Kirimi cry," he said, patting her on the head.

I opened my mouth to protest, but didn't want to argue further. Kirimi was on the verge of tears, and my conscience would kill me if I happened to be the cause of her crying. "Alright," I huffed at Kyouya. "I'll just have to get it over with,"

He grinned, taking my hand in his. My face began to heat up again as we all continued to walk, and I glanced at our clasped hands. His hands are warm, I thought, shaking my head from side to side right afterwards and figuring I clearly wasn't in my right mind.

We walked towards the school's garden; the one where we all played a game of Kick the Can a little while ago; a game that Tamaki had so often begged us to play because he was interested in 'the world of commoners', as he liked to call it.

Kyouya walked me and Kirimi to a different section of the garden than the one in which with the hedge maze located nearby.

"Whoa," I muttered at the sight of its beauty.

This area had multiple fountains that were spouting sparkling, clear water and were lined with lush flowers and grass . Kirimi gasped and ran ahead of us, running her fingers across the surface of the cool water and giggling. "It's so pretty!" she smiled.

"I figured that she'd be occupied here for a while," said Kyouya.

I nodded, looking at our hands once more. "You can let go of my hand now, you know," I gulped, looking up at his face.

There was no expression to it, really. What caused the blood to begin rushing to my cheeks again was the fact that it was inches from mine when I looked up.

"Right," he quietly replied, releasing his grip on my hand and heading towards a bench.

I sat beside him as we watched Kirimi run around, who was looking like the happiest kid on the planet. I began to worry a little about whether or not Nekozawa would be able to get accustomed enough to the sun to be able to spend more time with his own sister.

"I hope Nekozawa-senpai will be able to get over that fear of light he has," I said.

Kyouya looked over at me. "I'm sure they'll be just fine; whether I'd like to admit it or not, I think Renge's training is creating a positive impact on him."

I nodded. "I'm just a little worried, that's all. It would be really nice to see Kirimi being able to look at him the way she looked at Tamaki-senpai,"

After what seemed to be a long pause, a warm breeze began to linger in the air, the wind blowing through our hair and the leaves on the trees.

"You were like this with the twins, too, weren't you?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Huh?"

"When the twins fought. I remember you being worried about them not talking to each other,"

I could now feel the outline of Kyouya's hand on the top of my head, ruffing my hair up. I looked over at him. "What is it, Senpai?" I asked.

He warmly smiled for the first time today. "We're all very lucky to have you as a part of the host club."

"Senpai—"

"I just wanted you to know that,"

Kirimi's giggles and the warm breeze were all that filled the air at the moment. I smiled, unexpectedly finding myself touched by what he said. "Thanks, Kyouya-senpai," I said.

Kyouya changed the subject after watching Kirimi for a little while longer. "I bet you've never been to this area, have you?"

I nodded my head from side to side. "It's amazing! I wish I knew about it earlier in the year. I would have just sat here in my free time, or maybe sketched a few things,"

"I have to admit, it's quite a sight when the sun is setting; the way it is right now," he said.

"Mommy!" I heard Kirimi shout.

"Be right there!" I replied, running up to where she was, although it still felt strange to have her call me that like I was actually her mother. "What is it, Kirimi-chan?"

"I just wanted you to see how pretty these flowers are!" she smiled.

I looked at the wide range of them. They lined a single fountain that was in the center. I ran my fingers across the water's surface. The warm breeze, the sunset, the cool water on my fingertips, Kirimi's laughter; they all made up one rather relaxing afternoon. Kirimi stayed like that for a while, frolicking in the lush grass and splashing each other's hands with the fountains' cool water. Kyouya simply sat back and watched with a smile.

"Well, Kirimi-chan, I think we should be heading back," I said.

She began to look sad. "But I don't wanna leave you,"

"It's alright," I said. "I'm sure we'll see each other sometime. Won't we, Kyouya-senpai?" I asked, turning my head towards him with a look that told him he'd better respond with a yes.

"I'm sure we will," he said.

He then walked over and picked a single rose out of the garden, and grabbed a small vase that happened to be nearby. He placed the rose into the vase, now filled with a fountain's water, and bent down to Kirimi's level, holding it out to her. "This is for you," he said.

Kirimi took it in her hands and set it on the ground after admiring its beauty for quite a while. I was crouched down next to Kyouya, and so she pulled us into a group hug. "I had a lot of fun with you guys!" she beamed. "I'm going to tell big brother all about you!"

"Just don't tell anyone that I picked this flower from the academy's garden, okay?" he asked.

She nodded happily as we hugged her back. I looked over at Kyouya to find out that he'd been staring at me. I raised an eyebrow at him, although he only reacted with a chuckle.

We both stood up after hugging her, ready to walk towards the music room again, but Kirimi had something else in mind.

"Hey Mommy? Daddy? Can I ask you one more thing?" she asked.

The both of us turned around to see her standing indignantly with the vase in her hand. "I'd like Daddy to kiss Mommy on the cheek!"

I nearly gasped because of such a request, wondering where on earth she got these ideas from. Kyouya and I looked over at each other. His wide-eyed expression matched mine.

Kirimi pouted. "Please,"

"Kirimi-chan," I began.

Even more tears welled up in her eyes than the last time she was going to cry. I looked over at Kyouya to find that his expression no longer matched mine. It was now a grin. "You really shouldn't make your own daughter cry so much," he teased.

"I'm not!" I retorted.

She was on the verge of tears, leaving me no choice but to give in.

I sighed irritably. "Fine. Just make it quick,"

"Yay!" Kirimi shouted, watching the two of us intently.

Kyouya had both of my shoulders in his hands. He slowly leaned in, and I could feel his warm breath on the side of my face. His lips were nearly at my cheek, and he gently placed a hand on the other side of my face, tilting his head to the side just slightly.

"Kyouya-senpai," I scowled through my blush, "this really isn't necessar—"

My words were cut off by my shock. His lips had just barely brushed up against my cheek, but not before Hikaru and Kaoru came rushing in. "Kyouya-senpai! Hiroshi! Nekozawa-senpai's training is finished and he- Whoa,"

I nearly pushed Kyouya into a stone wall when I made him release his grip on me. "What? What's up?" I asked in a tone that was as monotone as I could manage.

"Daddy was about to kiss Mommy on the cheek!" Kirimi whined, practically jumping up and down in frustration.

The twins' jaws dropped. "No! Our plan!" they shouted at each other. "We're stupid. Carry on, carry on," they practically screamed, making an attempt to rush away.

I caught onto the both of them, and they appeared to be quite terrified. "This was all your plan? So that's what you were whispering to Kirimi earlier?!" I shouted.

It was as if the two of them were on a treadmill, trying to run away, but being held back by me. They did, however, manage to break free after a good five minutes. I peered over at Kyouya, who was staring at the ground. My eyes widened at his shy expression. Or something similar to that, anyways. He then looked up at me, and his face was as pink as I've ever seen it so far in these months of knowing the host club. The sight of Kyouya blushing nearly gave me a heart attack; someone like Kyouya wouldn't blush in front of other people.

I quickly and shyly looked away, blushing as well. All of the fear drained from the twins' faces, and they grinned. "C'mon, Sushi and Pocky, why don't we head back?"

They gasped when I held my fist up at the two of them.

Kirimi yawned. "Hey guys, can I go home?"

"Sure," I said as she took my hand and began to walk back.

All of us then remembered about the long walk we'd have to take to get to the front of the school again, sighing and stepping sluggishly towards the front entrance. The twins wouldn't quit grinning and looking back at Kyouya and I, though, because Kirimi wanted us to hold hands on the way back as well. I didn't look at Kyouya much for the rest of the evening; I'd be too embarrassed to. I wondered why on earth I would feel so shy about it. It wasn't like he actually kissed me. Maybe I simply couldn't face him after the fact that it was almost to that point. The area on my cheek that he'd nearly pressed his lips against was quite close to my own lips, after all.

Kirimi waved us off as her limo pulled away, smiling and saying that she'd be back to see her big brother tomorrow. As I made my way up another staircase the next day, I smiled as well at the thought of them finally being able to spend time with one another. Although, my train of thought was broken, as usual.

"Hey there, Kyouya-senpai," I said, turning around to wave at him, acting as though nothing at all had happened yesterday between us.

"How'd you know I was here?" he asked, walking up a few steps so that he could walk next to me.

"Intuition, stalker," I shrugged and half-laughed at the same time.

"Well, I was going to tell you I was behind you, but you turned around to greet me first,"

"I see," I said. "So, how do you think this whole situation is going to turn out?"

"Well, to be honest, I don't think Nekozawa will ever be fully accustomed to the light no matter what. But the matter is negotiable; he doesn't need to be happy-go-lucky all day and every day around Kirimi. So I do think he'll manage by becoming only partially used to the light,"

I nodded. "And he's already well on his way, shining a flashlight into his face and all. Hey, about Kirimi, how did you manage to take a rose from the school's garden? Aren't there security cameras?"

"I have my ways," he grinned. "And I doubt something as small as that will go on my record. Besides, Kirimi seemed to be quite happy about it."

"That's good," I said. "Yesterday I sorta figured out that I actually like seeing Kirimi smile, since she didn't genuinely laugh at all when Haruhi and I read shojo manga to her."

I shivered at the thought of having to act out those insanely cliché scenes again; not to mention that they clearly weren't appropriate for people that were Kirimi's age.

"I know; you have this look on your face when you see her happy,"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

He laughed. "Don't take offense to it. That's a good thing. When she's happy, you're happy."

"What," I laughed.

He hesitated before smiling just slightly. "That's a good thing," he chuckled, ruffling my hair up.

"Really, now?" I asked.

He nodded in reply as we continued in our pacing towards the club room, and I grasped the meaning of what I he may have meant.

Did he mean that the reason he gave her the flower was to see me smile?

I didn't get to have a look at his expression before we walked into Music Room Three, in which the windows were still covered with curtains to block out the sunlight. We realized that we came in a little late, because Nekozawa was already in front of Kirimi, doing the exact same thing he'd done yesterday: holding a flashlight under his chin. His cloak and wig were off, although he still looked terrifying to Kirimi. I was about to open my mouth to tell him not to do that, but Kirimi was already wailing and running in the opposite direction.

"Kirimi!" Nekozawa shouted, falling to the ground right afterwards when the lights turned back on again.

Sunlight poured through the windows once again, and Renge sighed. "I'm sorry that my training has failed you, Nekozawa-senpai," she said, climbing up on the circular platform in the middle of the floor.

"Wow," said the twins, looking out the window. "Your family sure does have a natural talent for bringing cats around, Nekozawa-senpai,"

Nekozawa gasped and looked up, rushing towards the windows. There was Kirimi, at the front entrance, with a chubby cat standing in front of her. It was almost as big as she was.

"Kirimi's terrified of cats!" Nekozawa gulped.

"Help me!" we could hear her cry, but it was muffled through the window and the fact that we were several stories up.

Tamaki looked over at him. "Now's your chance! Go and save her,"

"Kirimi, I'm coming to save you!" Nekozawa shouted.

"Nekozawa-senpai!" we all shouted as he jumped right out of the window, breaking the glass.

"Tamaki-senpai, what did you do?" Haruhi sighed.

His jaw dropped. "I meant he should have taken the stairs!"

We were sure he was going to be unconscious when he hit the ground, but he'd landed on his feet and his hands, just like people claimed cats did. He ran over to Kirimi, who then tears welling up in her eyes. "I won't let anything happen to you, Kirimi," he said sincerely.

Her lip trembled as she came into realization that he really was her big brother. "Big brother!" she cried as she jumped into his arms.

All of us looked at each other, smiling. Renge hopped off of the platform she was on and pointed her finger in the air indignantly. "This is all thanks to my special training!"

Nekozawa continued, holding up his cat puppet Bellzenef. "With the power of this cat, I'll make sure that... that..."

His voice trailed off, and we realized that he'd been out in the sun for much longer than he's used to. He drowsily fell flat on his face onto the ground while the cat waddled away.

"Nekozawa-senpai?" we all muttered simultaneously as we stood together, awkwardly staring at the scene below us.

The following day, Nekozawa was back to wearing the same old cloak and wig, cat puppet in hand.

The twins sighed as the entire club walked down the hallway together towards the music room once again. "Well, he's back to square one,"

"I wouldn't say that, Hika-chan and Kao-chan," said Hani.

"Yeah," Mori agreed in his low-pitched voice.

Tamaki pointed towards Kirimi, who was running down the hallway after her brother. "Look,"

Kirimi ran up to Nekozawa and tugged at the back of his cloak. He gasped and turned around, his cat puppet right beside his face, as if it were his weapon. He realized it was only Kirimi. She hesitated, having a good look at his face, and then beaming and taking him by the hand afterwards. "Can we do something today, big brother?" she smiled.

Nekozawa looked back at us. "Thanks," he mouthed.

"It was all you," said Tamaki. He then turned towards all of us. "Well, it looks like our job here is done!"

"Yay! Let's eat cake to celebrate!" Hani beamed.

Mori smiled subtly at Hani's adorable expression, and then lifted him up onto his shoulders. That afternoon had made all of us happy in one way or another that we'd helped someone in that way, even if some of us didn't show it. I could tell. We carried on normally with Hani on Mori's shoulders, Tamaki referring to Kyouya as Mommy again, and Haruhi and I pinching the twins' arms for something they'd teased us about. Doing all of those things, because it was now normal to be around each other in such a manner, we all proceeded in walking towards music room three together.


	20. Hani-senpai's Three Bitter Days

— _Chapter 20 _—

_**Hani-senpai's Three Bitter Days**_

* * *

Customers of the host club were squealing when Haruhi and I walked into the club room. They had hearts in their eyes, and it appeared that Tamaki was trying to hide a huge framed picture. Hani-senpai was stuffing his face with sweets and cake more than usual, and Hikaru and Kaoru were playing the 'Which One is Hikaru' game with a few other guests.

Kyouya was even making an effort to socialize with the customers, although he was only complimenting them and sweet-talking them in order for them to pay more money for upcoming events and activities. Despite all the commotion, Haruhi only eyed one person: Tamaki. She walked over to see what exactly he was hiding, and he looked at her with a terrified expression as guests bombarded her with questions about her childhood and her past.

"I didn't know you liked to dress up as a girl!" one girl giggled shyly.

Haruhi was clearly confused, and so she nervously laughed. "Sorry, Machi, but I'm not quite sure what you're talking about,"

While some of the guests were busy hyperventilating because of the cute boyish smile that she had, others continued to ask her about her opinion of cross-dressing (which was rather ironic, in my opinion, if one would think about her current situation). When Tamaki attempted to make a run for it, Haruhi dashed after him and grabbed him by the back of his collar, dragging him over to the enormous border that was framing an abnormally large picture. Haruhi's jaw dropped. There, framed by detailed and polished dark wood, was a picture of Haruhi when her hair was long, before some kid stuck a piece of gum in her hair and she figured she might as well cut all of it off. She was wearing her middle school uniform, smiling subtly at the camera.

"H-Haruhi?" Tamaki nervously asked.

Haruhi's bangs seemed to cast a dark shadow over her eyes completely, terrifying him yet again. "I'll deal with you later," she grunted, and then headed off to the customers once again with a bright smile. This, of course, caused Tamaki to gasp deeply, running into his dark corner where a black aura seemed to be surrounding him as he sat down and curled up. A big puddle of tears began to form around him as he sobbed. "Mommy, Haruhi's being mean to Daddy!"

Kyouya peered over at him and sighed. "Well, I do suppose it's my fault,"

"Your fault?" I queried.

"I did manage to obtain this photo, at the request of Tamaki, of course. You see, I keep in contact with Haruhi's father, and so Tamaki decided he'd enlarge it and frame it,"

"What?!" shouted Haruhi.

Other than the fact that I was a little freaked out by Kyouya's statement about keeping in contact with Ranka, I couldn't help but stare at Hani, who was now visibly and audibly stuffing his face with strawberry shortcake. Mori stared wide-eyed at him, moving several small pieces of cake towards the other end of the small table. It didn't work, however. Hani merely reached across, beaming cutely after eating the remainder of cake and sweets. I wondered how on earth he didn't manage to gain any weight after eating that much all day.

"Is there any more?" he asked.

Kyouya sighed, scribbled something into his black notebook, and then looked over at Hani. "I'm afraid the host club would be spending a bit too much of our funding if we decided on purchasing any more sweets for the week,"

"The week?" Hani asked dismally, looking down.

"Yes," Kyouya replied blankly. "You've eaten nearly all of our supply,"

It was then that Hani decided he'd save the rest for the next day, and that's exactly what he did. He gobbled down the last bits of cake, afterwards wishing that there was still more of it. I wasn't quite sure how he'd managed to keep his teeth white and in perfect condition when all he ever had to eat was sugary stuff. Mori may have thought the same, given the fact that he'd always been concerned about Hani's well-being. He also may have chosen not to risk upsetting Hani by attempting to tell him to give up sweets completely, however. Hani told us that he'd always brush his teeth after gorging himself on cake and sweets, although we all still couldn't quite help being concerned. It was this nap in particular, though, in which our main concern wasn't the possibility of him acquiring a cavity; it was his stuffed bunny Usa-chan, lying down on the small table beside him, soaked in tea.

Crouching behind a sofa and peeking nervously out of it at a snoozing Hani, the twins and Tamaki seemed completely terrified of what might have happened next. It was as if they thought Hani would suddenly wake from his nap, catch sight of them, blame them for it, and then bite their heads off. I sighed, figuring we would have to come clean at some point anyways. Just as I was about to reach over and tap Hani's shoulder, Hikaru and Kaoru grabbed ahold of both my wrists, running me over to their so-called safehouse.

"What the heck were you about to do, Hiroshi?!" the twins roughly whispered.

I shrugged. "Don't you think Hani-senpai would be more angry if we lied to him about the tea spill?"

"No!" Tamaki said.

"Are you kidding?" Kaoru asked as he stared wide-eyed at me alongside his twin. "Hani-senpai's bunny was made by his now-deceased grandmother!"

Tamaki then held his fist up in the air, as if to hint that he was determined. "But don't fret! I've devised a plan that will make sure that Hani-senpai will get his bunny back in perfect condition,"

"So we Hani-senpai won't be biting our heads off?" Hikaru asked, his eyes full of hope.

I thought for a second that maybe Tamaki's plan could work out if it was a normal one. Then again, Tamaki's plans were never normal; I should have known better. The twins and I shot a weird look at him. He declared that we needed to fly all the way to Mount Osore in order to make a brand new Usa-chan. What he said next had nearly made my jaw drop. With confidence, he instructed us to summon the spirit of Hani's grandmother, get her to guide us through the instructions she'd used to make the original Usa-chan, and then take the long way back to Tokyo in order to pick up souvenirs.

"Boss, we don't have time for that," Hikaru sighed.

"Yeah," Kaoru agreed, "we're used to your crazy ideas, but in this situation, you should try coming up with something more practical,"

Tamaki then peered over at Haruhi, who seemed as though she was busy with studying for the big exams that were coming up. Without a thought crossing his mind about the importance of studying in order to maintain her role as an honor student (which, to my dismay, I had to do as well), he dragged her over to where we were hiding and held out a bulky pink bunny suit. Haruhi appeared to be questioning his sanity as a huge beam spread across his face.

"What are you doing, Senpai?" she asked, shrugging his hand off of her shoulder.

"We're going to have to take Usa-chan to the cleaners," he said, pointing to the pink bunny.

"And?" Haruhi asked.

"And, Haruhi, you'll have to wear this bunny suit as a disguise until the real Usa-chan gets back! Hani-senpai won't notice when he's just waking up from a nap!" he told her excitedly, giving a dorky grin.

Although this plan was a much more reasonable one than the previous one, it was still quite far from realistic. Haruhi wore a blank expression on her face as Tamaki persistently nudged her with the suit.

"Hani-senpai isn't that stupid," she said, making an attempt at walking away. "Besides, you could always do it. In fact, why don't you do it instead?"

Tamaki stood up and stopped her, whining. "But Haruhi! Daddy would be so happy if you'd just dress up in this costume!"

"You wear it, Senpai!" she huffed, trying to run away, although Tamaki still had a firm grip on the material on the back of her blue blazer.

He protested. "But I wouldn't look as cute!" he shouted.

Their argument became so jumbled up then that it was quite difficult to distinguish between who was saying what. Because of the amount of sound they were producing, Kyouya felt the need to shush them. "You know, you're going to wake up Hani-senpai up despite the effort you're putting forth towards not doing so,"

Even after his logical explanation, the two still continued to argue. The twins were trying to get them to stop doing so by repeatedly explaining that Haruhi really would look cute in a bunny suit, which, of course, didn't help in the slightest. In the midst of it all, Haruhi threw the bunny suit up in the air, and I made a run in its direction to catch it. Instead, it landed in Kyouya's hands, and a loud thud occurred. I bumped into him with much force, surprised that he managed to be standing up at that point in time.

"Ouch," I muttered at the feeling of the sudden impact.

"You alright?" he asked, grasping the sides of my arms in his hands.

I swatted his hands away before I could even have the chance to blush, and nodded. I reached out to grab the bulky costume from his hands, but he only stepped backwards and held it behind his back. I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what the heck he could possibly be up to in this situation.

"What are you doing, Senpai?" I sighed irritably, repeatedly bending to the side in attempts to get it back.

He only pushed his glasses up with his free hand, grinning. "Why don't we settle their argument by following one of my ideas?" he asked.

I gulped and shot him a weird look. "What?"

He then held the costume out to me once more, wearing a smile on his face that gave off the fact that his intentions weren't as innocent as his expression. "You just might look cute in this as well; maybe even cuter than Tamaki and Haruhi combined,"

Although I knew he was only saying such things to put an end to the argument, I felt blood beginning to rush to my cheeks. I scowled, snatching the costume away. "Yeah, Senpai, I'm really going to wear this," I huffed sarcastically, heading in the other direction in hopes of somehow successfully devising another plan that was actually reasonable.

Before I even made it halfway there, though, the twins, Tamaki, and Haruhi had ceased all shouting and were completely frozen. Hani was about to wake up. Tamaki gasped, and at the very last minute, came up with a more reasonable idea than he's come up with all week. He placed his own stuffed animal, a teddy bear, in front of Hani so that he might be distracted for a few seconds before realizing what had happened to Usa-chan.

All of us watched nervously as Hani slowly sat up, staring irritably at the teddy bear that was in front of him. It did manage to distract him for a few seconds, although it didn't end very well. He lifted the bear as high as his arm would allow him to, and then threw it onto the ground with quite a great amount of force. Tamaki yelped in agony. "My teddy bear!" he exclaimed, although the bear was too close to Hani at that point in time for him to work up the confidence to run up and get it.

However, Tamaki had become even more terrified at the dark expression on Hani's face before he spotted Usa-chan. Hani walked over and grasped the tea-soaked bunny in his hands, his expression more unpleasant than I've ever seen it. He turned towards us, causing Tamaki and the twins to gasp deeply. "Who got Usa-chan dirty?" he asked.

"Mori!" Tamaki croaked, "Don't let him hurt us!"

"Mitsukuni," Mori said in his deep voice, "Usa-chan got thirsty, and so he got a drink."

All of us stood frozen in place, waiting for a response out of Hani. He really was beginning to scare us all, but after a while of making our hearts pound, his adorable smile suddenly came up onto his face again. "Oh, I understand!" he said. "Usa-chan just wanted some tea! I bet he wants cake, too, huh Takashi?"

"Yeah," he replied blankly.

I could have sworn I saw Tamaki's eye twitch as he fell to the floor alongside the twins. "That was all it took?" all of them asked simultaneously.

The next week, Hani was back to eating sweets, since the host club had stocked up on them once again. To Kyouya's dismay, it seemed, they spent a bit more money than usual at Hani's request. I could tell; he looked stressed out when he'd recalculated our expenditures for the fifth time in a row. I sighed, having to give him a pat on the back and tell him that it was only for one week. He told me that he was planning on recalculating the number again, but I needed to stop him to keep him from going insane in front of the customers.

"So Hani!" a guest began excitedly, sitting in the middle of two other girls while facing him. "How do you like your chocolate served? In a mousse? Oh, how about bonbons?"

The girl to the left of her smiled. "I bet you like chocolate cake the most, Hani!"

After a while, he beamed at them while hugging Usa-chan closely, who was now cleaned up and good as new. "I like everything! I love anything chocolate, Usa-chan, and all of you ladies!"

The customers squealed in delight. "He's so cute!" they exclaimed.

He took another bite of cake, seemingly happier than ever now that there was a whole new supply of cake and sweets. From where I was sitting, I could see Haruhi bringing tea to them on a tray, and then offering Hani a piece of advice.

"You're gonna get a cavity from eating too many sweets, Hani-senpai," she said.

Hani only smiled cheerily in reply. "It's alright, Haru-chan! I brush my teeth every time, remember?" he asked, biting into another mouthful of cake.

He didn't go on chewing regularly like he did before, however. "Ouch!" he exclaimed, setting the fork back down on the table. He looked downwards, clutching his right cheek in his hand.

The entire host club and the guests rushed over to see what had happened to Hani, but he protested, saying that he was okay. Hikaru and Kaoru made every attempt to get Hani to open his mouth so that he could see whether or not there was a cavity, but Hani protested even more, telling them in a surprisingly whiny tone to leave him alone and stop messing with him. Mori, however, wasn't so willing to let go of it. He grabbed Hani, tossed him onto the sofa, and sat down so that he could lean over him and inspect the inside of his mouth.

The guests squealed even more, unleashing their inner yaoi fangirls, babbling about how adorable Mori and Hani were when they were in such a stance. It took a little while for Hani to finally open up, but knew that he didn't have a choice anyways, and reluctantly allowed Mori to make observations about his teeth. Mori's eyes widened, and he turned towards Tamaki, who was standing right behind him.

"Is there a cavity, Mori-senpai?" Tamaki asked.

Mori nodded in reply, and then told him to make an announcement about it.

Tamaki cleared his throat, which successfully gave him the guests' undivided attention. "Unfortunately, Hani-senpai seems to have a cavity. It would be greatly appreciated if you refrain from eating sweets in Music Room Three for the time being, or at least until his cavity is gone,"

Hani sat up, seemingly devastated at the thought of not being able to eat cake for as long as his cavity decided to remain there. Tears began to form in his eyes as he looked at Mori. "Takashi? Please don't take my snacks away," he sniffled, his bottom lip trembling.

Although, Mori seemed relentless towards Hani, and threw away the piece of cake that was sitting on the table. Hani began to cry, but Mori refused to let up. "No cake," he stated blankly, causing an even bigger waterfall of tears to come streaming out of Hani's eyes.

The next day was pretty rough on Hani. The twins, Haruhi, and I were peeking around the corner at what was taking place. Hani wore a bandage that was tied in a knot on the top of his head in order to keep the ice held up to his cheek. The customers, seeing him in the hall, had began to murmur excitedly about how the knot had made him resemble a rabbit because of the two loose pieces of fabric sticking out of his head. There was one thing that was slightly peculiar, though, and that was the fact that he carried an abnormally large bag. Mori walked up behind him and instructed him to hand the bag over.

"I'm fine, Takashi. I can carry the bag on my own," Hani said.

Mori only blankly stared at him, holding his hand out. "Yes, you can. Now hand it over," he said, completely contradicting what he'd said before his request.

Hani sighed, handing the bag over to Mori. Out poured tons of candy pieces, scattering around the already large pile of sweets that was now forming.

"I was just looking," said Hani nervously, "I wasn't actually going to eat them,"

Mori dangled a flyer in front of Hani's face with mere pictures of sweets on it, and then grabbed the bag full of candy. "If you were only looking, then try looking at that," he said, walking off and leaving Hani to sob in the middle of the hallway.

The following afternoon, we were all in Music Room Three as always after school hours, and Mori was sitting alone at one of many small tables. The guests were concerned about Hani as usual, and were trying to avoid talking about sweets in front of him as much as possible. That's why one of the guests needed to wait for hani to be out of earshot in order to inform Tamaki about a new patisserie that her family had hired from France. She figured he'd be slightly interested, since he, in fact, was of French decent.

"I wish I could have brought you some of the chocolate that he made," she sighed, "but Hani-senpai's cavity isn't getting better. I feel so sorry for him,"

"Indeed," said Tamaki, then tilting her chin upwards towards his face and smiling. "But we'll be able to share chocolate again soon enough, my dear,"

"Oh, Tamaki, the friendship between you boys is so beautiful," she sighed dreamily.

"I'm sure it's delicious, but no chocolate could withstand the heat wave of my love, which would melt it completely and leaving it all to go to waste," he murmured.

She was on the verge of hyperventilating because of his sweet-talking. The twins praised him for it, saying that he really could make the guests have heart attacks by being so intoxicated with cheesy romance, even in a situation like this one.

"Missing sweets, though, aren't you, Boss?" Kaoru asked.

Tamaki shook his head from side to side. "It doesn't matter. The happiness of our guests is at the utmost importance, no matter what situation we're placed in,"

"Just be sure not to let Hani-senpai have any sweets, no matter what tricks he may resort to," said Kyouya, suddenly grinning as he shut his black notebook. "Incidentally, these instructions do come from Mori-senpai. This isn't my doing," he smiled, and then began to walk off in the other direction.

Hikaru raised an eyebrow at him. "Is it just me, or does he seem to be enjoying this?"

"Well," I replied, "he did look stressed out when he recalculated the amount of money spent on Hani-senpai's sweets. So I guess he'd be glad, knowing that that's taken off of his shoulders,"

The twins both stared blankly at me. "It sounds like you're sugar-coating his money-grubbing motives,"

Although I knew that Kyouya liked to be ensured that he was still a wealthy man, I didn't think that he was that money-grubbing. He simply likes to keep an eye out for how much money he spends and how much he makes.

They grinned. "Is it because you like-"

"No!" I huffed, walking out of the club room to get some fresh air.

I walked through the shade that was supported by thin pillars, which was just over the perimeter of one of the school buildings. I wondered how long Hikaru and Kaoru intended on bugging me about whether I liked Kyouya or not. I guess I didn't mind as much as I did earlier in the year, it's just that on this day in particular, I simply didn't want to hear it. For a reason in particular that I couldn't pick out at that point in time, although it embarrassed me a great deal to hear Hikaru and Kaoru kept acting as though Kyouya and I were a couple, I was also subconsciously flattered.

"I need to know," I heard a girl sigh in the distance.

I stepped behind a thin pillar, although it didn't cover me completely. I could make out two figures standing face to face. One was considerably taller than the other. If I squinted my eyes a little, I could see that the shorter one had long hair and was wearing a female school uniform (one of those uncomfortable dresses). The taller one turned out to be Mori-senpai, keeping silent while the girl kept on talking to him.

"I need to know where I stand with you, and if you'll accept my love," she said.

He didn't reply.

"There's someone else, isn't there?" she quietly asked, now looking down.

No response from him, again.

"I should have known," she said, the tone in her voice giving away that she was crying.

She ran away, and Mori stood there, frozen in place. I questioned if he'd even heard a word she said. His mind was probably still focused on Hani, who had tried several different strategies in order to be able to eat sweets again. His first approach was coming up to Mori with a plan that was supposed to make him appear as irresistibly adorable, therefore earning him the right to sweets. "Takashi! Takashi! Guess what?" he beamed, running over towards him.

Mori didn't respond, waiting for Hani to get to the point.

"My cavity's all gone now!"

"Really, now."

"Yeah!" Hani smiled cheerily. "See? The swelling has even gone down!"

"Has it?"

"Yeah! You can see right here-"

Hani's voice tailed off into a gasp of pain. Just as he'd reached Mori, an icy, rectangular popsicle was placed in his mouth rather forcefully, causing Hani's cavity to hurt even more than it did to begin with.

"It's not completely healed yet," stated Mori.

This plan clearly hadn't worked, and so he went on to two guests, Tomoyo and Miyu, to see if they'd give in. I sat with the two of them and had tea with them, since they were wondering what it was like to design cosplay for the hosts. I couldn't help but think that this was a bit too much of a girly thing for me to be doing, but surprisingly found it fun to give a conversation with guests a shot. Just as our conversation had reached the midway point, though, Hani strolled over to us with his famous sweet smile ready on his face. The two of them looked at me in a panic, but all I could do is nervously smile.

"Hey, Hani-senpai!" I said, waving.

"Hi, Hiro-chan," he smiled. "So how's that tea, ladies?"

They made an attempt at laughing in a friendly and casual manner, although it came out sounding nervous. "It really good, Hani,"

"You know what would go great with that tea? Some cake!"

The two of the gulped, and then began to run away. "We're so sorry, Hani!" they shouted as they made their way out. "But it's for your own good!"

Hani was one smart kid; he made his transition from one approach to the other smoothly within a matter of seconds. As soon as Tomoyo and Miyu were out the door, he turned to look at me with his big brown eyes, which were now beginning to drip with tears. "Hiro-chan," he sniffled.

"What's wrong, Hani-senpai?" Haruhi asked, walking over the the both of us.

"And Haru-chan, too," he sobbed. "I don't see what I did wrong to deserve this,"

Haruhi and I looked at each other in concern. Although it could have possibly been a front, seeing Hani in such a state wasn't pleasant. So Haruhi pulled out a small bar with a red wrapper around it that read Kyoto Kelp. "It's the same color as chocolate. Try it," she said.

I was just about to tell Haruhi that Kyoto Kelp wouldn't satisfy his craving for sweets in the slightest, but he was already headed in the opposite direction. The hosts and I, with the exception of Hani, were sitting down after a long hour of hard work. I even got a taste of what a host's job was. Hani was pacing the room as the last guest exited, clutching onto Usa-chan.

"He's gonna crack," Tamaki gulped.

Kaoru shuddered. "Would someone please go and talk to him? He's scaring me,"

Hani began to walk towards the storage room, where all of the sweets were supposed to be located. Hikaru jumped up in a panic. "He's headed for the candy!" he exclaimed.

"No need to worry," said Kyouya, that supposed innocent smile appearing on his face again. "We've already emptied out all of the sweets,"

"Well, you're chipper today," I said.

Hani opened the cabinet, expecting some form of candy to be there waiting for him. He instead made a grouchy face and pulled out what was inside of the cabinet; Tamaki's teddy bear. He then threw it onto the ground with even more force than he did the last time.

"Gah!" Tamaki shouted, his eyes wide and his hands placed on the sides of his head. "He keeps doing that to my teddy bear!"

Hani then sighed, turned around, and seemed to have passed out face-down on the floor. Nervously, Tamaki walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking him lightly.

"Hey Hani-senpai? I'm sorry we- Gah! Ouch! Stop that! Argh!" he shouted.

Hani had suddenly sprung up and had bit down hard on Tamaki's foot. The more Tamaki was flailing his foot in any direction he could, the more Hani seemed to cling on to him. Several minutes had passed, and still no action had been taken. I figured Mori trusted that Hani would stop at some point, but he seemed to be biting on Tamaki's foot nonstop as he ran around the room. Mori had then walked over to where Hani and Tamaki currently were, each of us staring at him intently. He towered over Hani, giving him a stern look. "Mitsukuni. Stop taking this out on other people," he said.

The overall commotion between the two blonds had stopped completely, and Hani balled up his shaking fists, seemingly angry. Mori still spoke. "It's disgraceful, Mitsukuni,"

"Takashi," Hani scowled, tuning around. "You idiot!" he shouted, taking us by surprise by throwing Mori halfway across the room. "A little bit isn't gonna hurt me! You're so mean! Why are you such a hard-head?!" he practically screamed, on the verge of tears.

As if shouting those things at Mori after throwing him wasn't enough, he said something that we were sure would scar him. "That's it! I hate you!" he exclaimed. "I hate you, Takashi!"

He cried, running out of the room with Tamaki following closely behind. Mori sat there, blankly staring at the wall.

"Are you okay, Mori-senpai?" asked Hikaru.

He merely nodded, stood up, and fell back down again since he'd broken the table he'd previously leaned on. Haruhi stared pensively at him, and seemed to reach a conclusion about the overall situation. "Hey Mori-senpai," she said, "were you doing all of these things to make Hani-senpai hate you?"

"Why would he do that?" the twins wondered. "That doesn't make any sense,"

"Haruhi's right," Mori stated. "I'm not sure if I could be living with myself right now if Mitsukuni hadn't thrown me down,"

"Why's that?" Kaoru wondered, concern visible in his eyes.

"For the past few times Mitsukuni has taken a nap, I forgot to tell him to brush his teeth beforehand," he said, pressing his hand to his forehead.

Kyouya explained the answer in greater detail for him. "Because he feels he was the cause of Hani-senpai's cavity, he wanted some sort of punishment from him to make up for his failure,"

"If Mitsukuni happens to have false teeth when he's older, it'll be because of me," Mori sighed.

The mood in the room suddenly turned from concerned and slightly emotional to awkward. Hikaru and Kaoru hastily waved their hands in front of them. "Trust me, that isn't going to happen,"

"What a pessimist," I heard Haruhi mutter.

The door creaked open again, and Hani was peeking in. Tamaki was right behind him, smiling. "Well, there you have it," he said.

Hani looked over at Mori, and tears began to form in his eyes again as he ran over to him. "I'm so sorry, Takashi!" he sobbed. "I'll never forget to brush my teeth again! I promise!"

Mori stood in shock for a little, but smiled back afterwards.

After a few days, Hani was allowed to eat cake again; his cavity had completely gone away, and he was stuffing his face with sweets once more. Mori was back to sitting next to Hani, wiping bits of cake off of his face, which made the guests nearly go insane because of how cute they thought it was. Kyouya-senpai, however... he wasn't too happy about calculating our expenditures over and over again. Once again, I needed to tell him to quit recounting or else he'd go crazy.

"Trust me, Senpai. It's fine,"

"How do you know?"

"Well, we've already saved up enough money from two weeks worth of sweets," I said.

Remembering the amount of packages that we've ordered, I multiplied that by the price on Kyouya's calculator and compared that to the overall amount of what the hosts had spent for the week, reaching the conclusion that it didn't take up much of the total.

I handed the calculator back over to him, and shrugged. "It's just a little past our budget, so there's no need to worry unless we continue to do that. Hm, we're going to have to tell Hani-senpai that this isn't going to be the usual amount of sweets he'll be receiving, won't we?"

He turned away from the calculator and the bills to look at me.

"What?" I asked.

"You wouldn't make a bad manager for the host club," he said. "It's hard to find someone who has the mental capacity or enough of an attention span to have a go at the job,"

I half-laughed. "I'm not a math wiz or anything, Senpai. It's just common logic,"

"Which most people lack these days," he said, looking over at Tamaki.

I was about to tell him that what he said wasn't exactly nice, but then I realized he didn't mean it in that way. The smile on his face that appeared when he peered over at Tamaki told me that.

"Excuse me?" I heard a girl ask. She sounded an awful lot like the girl who had confessed to Mori recently, and it was.

Mori looked over at her with somewhat of a shocked expression as she made her way over to him, shyly looking at the ground. "Mori, I know who the person dearest to you is now, and I'd like you to know that I'm okay with that,"

He didn't reply, and so she peered over to Hani-senpai.

"It's just... the fact that it's Hani is just so..."

Her voice shook, and so I expected either rage or tears to come out of her. Boy was I in for a shock. She looked up at Mori with an open-mouthed rabid fangirl smile and hearts in her eyes. "Yay!" she exclaimed.

It seemed as though she was a moe fan girl all along, and so she became one of our guests. That seemed to cheer Kyouya up just a little bit, since Mori had just added onto the number of guests that would be paying the host club weekly. I had to hold a laugh back at the expression Kyouya made as he eagerly began to calculate the money that the hosts made for the day.


	21. Covering the Famous Host Club

— _Chapter 21 _—

_**Covering the Famous Host Club**_

* * *

Kyouya was finally getting back into the swing of things after Hani's cavity incident. In fact, he seemed happier than usual, claiming that it was now the time of year in which the host club was able to sell its magazines.

When I told him that I didn't know magazines for the host club even existed, he offered an explanation, along with examples. He pulled out several copies. Asking about my opinion, he stared at me intently.

The front pages were high-quality photographs of the individual hosts, most of them shirtless. When I shot Kyouya a weird look, he told me not to underestimate them, since they'd already been sold out within twenty-four hours of its initial sale: all one-thousand copies.

Before I could respond, he handed me something different: a book with chibi drawings of the host club on the front cover. According to Kyouya, this was an actual novel called "Moe Moe Ouran Diaries, Volume Eight." After allowing a smug smile to cross his lips, he gladly told me that those had also sold out as soon as they'd gone on sale.

I continued to pace down the hallway, skimming through the book to see if it would interest me, but it looked like more of a fan fiction about the hosts than anything else. It merely described a day in the life of one of them, with a few twists, some drama, and some fan service added on for the sake of the reader's attention span. Renge was the one who had come up with the idea and published it.

Fumbling with one of the pages, my hand had slipped and I accidentally dropped it. I bent down to pick it up, gladly realizing the short distance I needed to travel to get to the courtyard. Tamaki bumped into me in the hallway yesterday and told me to go there to meet with the hosts instead of the club room.

However, just as I was about to take a step forward, I heard muttering coming from a room that left its door slightly ajar. I didn't want to eavesdrop, but I could have sworn I heard them say something about the host club, so I had the urge to peek in. And that's exactly what I did.

Stacks of newspapers that were piled ceiling-high were surrounding the room; so much that two of the three men present were using the shorter stacks for seats. The man sitting in front of them, who was behind a desk, spoke in a tone of voice that would make one think they were discussing a life-or-death situation.

His rectangular-rimmed glasses were glinting in the sunlight that was pouring through the windows, making it impossible for me to see his eyes from where I was standing. He then stood up and turned his head swiftly at the large, wall-sized glass window behind him, and his mid-length hair that was a color of unsaturated brown had swayed for just a fragment of a second. His back was now facing the two other men, who had their heads tilted downwards.

One of the men seemed to be trembling in nervousness as he'd delivered some unfortunate news to the man facing the window. "President, the circulation of our newspaper sales have dropped into the single digits."

"How many copies did we sell this week?" the man queried in a seemingly cruel manner.

The other man gingerly held up two of his fingers. "Two copies, sir."

The man facing the window had turned towards the two men once again. This time, there wasn't any glint in the lenses of his glasses, and so I was able to identify him. He was Akira Komatsuzawa, a third-year here at Ouran. That must have meant that the two men standing in front of him were Chikago Ukyo and Tomochika Sakyo, the guys that were always at Akira's side when he was walking up and down the hallways between classes.

They weren't well known to many people, however, given that they were members of the school's newspaper club, one out of the handful of clubs which nobody had concerned themselves with. Maybe Akira's contemptuous demeanor was the reason why their articles only consisted of dirty and untrue gossip about the students.

"Ukyo," Akira began, causing the guy on the right to suddenly straighten his posture.

"Yes, President?"

"Did you happen to purchase one of those two copies?"

"Of course I have," Ukyo replied, holding up what appeared to be a copy of the newspaper that was published this week.

Akira scowled. "Sakyo. Have you purchased a copy as well?"

The man on the left straightened up, as Ukyo had done, and held his own copy of the newspaper out for Akira to see. "Why, yes, sir. Why wouldn't I?"

Akira sighed. "So you mean to tell me that no one outside of the newspaper club has bought one?"

"I'm afraid so, sir," Ukyo and Sakyo said simultaneously.

"So I see," Akira replied, suddenly pounding his fist on the table. "It's that host club."

I wondered why he thought that the host club had anything to do with it, and he continued with his rant.

"It can't get it through my head. How could the idiots at this school possibly find their merchandise more interesting? How many copies have been sold of their annual magazine releases?"

"Well, sir, they've sold all one thousand copies of the I Love Love Love Tamaki limited edition special as soon as it went on sale. Also, the Moe Ouran Diaries sold—"

"Enough!" Akira shouted. He took a deep breath. "That's it. Our only option is to try and get help from those hosts."

Even though he'd used the word "help", it was hard not to notice that he spoke with menacing tone. He'd practically spat out the word "hosts". It seemed that he it wasn't only help that he sought.

Debating on whether or not to inform the hosts about this, I proceeded on my way to the courtyard. My concern faded soon thereafter, however; everyone else in the school seemed to love them and they had a completely clean record in my eyes. It may have been a waste of time to worry them about something that may have not harmed them in the first place.

Once I made it outside, I could see the hosts, wearing the kimonos and haoris I designed. Hikaru and Kaoru were playing a shell matching game with two other guests, and Mori and Hani were wearing a single haori together. Hani's face was popping out, while Mori's arms were the only things visible through the folds of fabric. Mori's arms lifted a small bowl of soba noodles up to Hani's face, and tried to bring the chopsticks to Hani's mouth, but the noodles kept hitting him in his cheek instead. Hani's little expressions made the guests gawk over him, as usual. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Tamaki, hidden behind a hydrangea bush with another boy-crazy customer. He must have been saying something seductive to her, since she was staring starry-eyed at him. I walked over to Haruhi, who, to my surprise, was merely sitting down on the lush green grass and smiling.

"Hey, Hiroshi," she said after I decided I'd sit next to her.

"Hi there, Haruhi," I replied. "You look kind of happy today; did something happen?"

"Hm? No, not really. It's just that it's really peaceful here. It's about time; I've been waiting for a moment like this all year,"

I looked over at Kyouya, who was standing relatively close to us by a stream with three other guests. They were staring into the cool, clear water that was rushing past them, complimenting it and gazing at it. "I never knew that there was such a beautiful stream in the courtyard," one of the guests sighed dreamily.

Kyouya, instead of taking a romantic approach to the situation, shared some common knowledge with them. "It's called a yarimisu channel. People who lived in the Heian era felt it would make the seasons easier to enjoy if they could see flower petals or fall leaves drifted along its surface. I had it built especially for you girls to show my desire to spend all four seasons with you,"

I was in slight shock that Kyouya had made that last statement to them, since it was the most romantic thing he'd said to the guests all year. However, his smile, which was too innocent, gave away another one of his motives.

He pulled a sign-up sheet out of his black notebook, a pen in hand. "So what do you ladies think? We'll be holding an Autumn leaves tea party in the fall with a limited number of invitations,"

"Ooh! Sign me up!" each of the guests beamed.

Tamaki then came running towards Haruhi and I. "Haruhi! Hiroshi! Watch out!" he shouted.

"Gah!" Haruhi yelled.

He had come crashing into Haruhi and sent the both of them flying into the air, causing them to land with a loud thud and leaving a large, rising cloud of dust. I needed to rub my head because of the throbbing occurring on the left side of it. Tamaki managed to hit it when he came running frantically towards us. While I was just finishing up coughing violently, Kyouya bent down to have a look at me. I looked up to find him staring at me, and a crooked grin crept onto his face. "You have dust in your hair,"

I grumbled, running my fingers through my hair repetitively in order to get it back to normal. Kyouya, however, was chuckling at me. I raised an eyebrow at him, purposely hinting to him that I thought he was one heck of a moron. He told me that I missed a spot, with that crooked grin still not leaving his face, and then began to run his fingers through another part of my hair that I hadn't reached. I gulped, blushing and making an attempt to swat his hand away.

"Kyouya-senpai, that really isn't necessary," I said.

"You don't want to go around the rest of the day with dust in your hair, do you?" he asked.

My hands dropped. I puffed my cheeks up and then exhaled, now looking at Kyouya with a slightly bitter expression. "Make it quick, then, if you really have to remove the dust that badly," I said.

He smiled, continuing to run his hand trough my hair. He then brushed his hand on my cheek, telling me that I had had some dry dirt there as well. I frowned. "I said to make it quick, Senpai! Sheesh!" I huffed, still blushing, and then scooting away from him.

My eyes shot in the direction of the windows because of the sound of glass shattering. A single panel was broken; Tamaki had done another one of his starlight kicks again, and the twins had been waving the ball off as it seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Unfortunately, because the ball had been kicked with such a great amount of force, it hadn't only broken the glass, but it managed to hit someone. A loud 'Gah!' came from the window, followed by other guys frantically shouting 'President!'

Kyouya had confirmed my assumption about hitting Akira Komatsuzawa, telling us that it had flown through the window of the classroom the newspaper club occupied. He certainly knew his way around the school for being a second-year, and so all of us frantically rushed up multiple staircases and hallways in order to see whether Akira was still breathing or not. It turned out that he was; he only had his face buried in his arms on his desk, Ukyo and Sakyo pressing bags of ice onto his head.

"We're so sorry," Tamaki said, his eyes full of concern.

Akira replied sarcastically. "Oh, it's no big deal. This would happen to any person, getting hit upside the head and nearly causing a death,"

I furrowed my brow as Tamaki bowed and apologized sincerely once more, thinking that I would have already pounded Akira's face in for being so rude after a sincere apology. I was about to, as Akira put it, hit him upside the head again for being so rude, but I didn't think it would do me any good. So I sat next to Hani and Haruhi on the ground, helping them sweep up the bits of broken glass on the floor, although still listening in on what exactly Akira was saying.

"Well," he said, "what a coincidence. I was just about to ask permission from all of you to make an article about you on our cover page,"

Haruhi turned away from the cleaning supplies once we were finished. "I didn't know that Ouran even had a newspaper club,"

Hikaru and Kaoru picked up a separate newspaper article each, skimming for a few seconds before opening the papers completely and holding them out to her.

"It's mostly just gossip," explained Hikaru, holding up a paper with a large headline that read 'Love Across Social Classes!'.

"Yeah," Kaoru agreed, "it's more of a tabloid than a newspaper,"

"Its purpose was to stir up scandal and drama,"

"But everyone found out that it all wasn't real, and that all of it was lies, so they stopped reading altogether," the twins said simultaneously, shrugging and tossing the newspapers back into a high stack of them.

Akira, Ukyo, and Sakyo were now bowing their heads, Akira being the one to speak for the three of them. "We have seemed to lose sight of what we really should be presenting to the students. Because of that, the club is at risk. I'm afraid we're going to have to shut it down before the next school year begins if we don't end on a successful note. So please, will you help us? We'd be honored to have an article about the host club on our front page,"

Kaoru was the first one to respond. "Why would we wanna get involved with all of your drama?" he bluntly asked.

Hikaru, of course, agreed with his twin. "Yeah. The host club has a reputation to uphold, you know. And you writing a false article about us is only going to ruin it."

Tamaki gasped. "We would love to!"

"What?" the twins asked.

The blond turned his head in their direction, waterfalls of tears pouring out of his eyes. "Don't you understand what this means? Their family is breaking up!" he sobbed, the three members of the newspaper club sobbing along with him.

Kyouya pushed Tamaki to the side, brightly smiling in the Akira's face to hide what he really wanted to say to them. "I apologize for the inconvenience, but you see, we have a policy which states that we aren't allowed to share personal information with anyone else except for ourselves and our customers."

Akira seemed to have twitched. He then dramatically sighed, throwing his head down onto the desk again. "I understand. The mistakes of the past can never be erased, and unfortunately most people aren't willing to give others a second chance," he sobbed, exclaiming afterwards that his head was throbbing.

"President!" Ukyo and Sakyo yelled simultaneously in a panic, waving their hands hastily around Akira as though it would make a difference.

Once we decided that he was only making a big dramatic freak out of himself, we thought that no one could possibly fall for his act and began to exit the room without another word. We were wrong about nobody falling for it, however. Sure enough, Tamaki was standing by their side, looking at all of us with a stern expression.

"How could you be so heartless?" he asked. "Their club is at risk! Didn't you just hear them?! Together, we can use the power of the host club to bring them back together again!" he said, holding his fist up in the air in determination.

"Count us out, then, boss," replied Hikaru, beginning to walk off with Kaoru and Haruhi again.

"You're way too trusting, boss,"

"Yeah. We can't just go along with everything you say forever,"

Kyouya, Mori, Hani, and I were walking in the same direction as they were. "We're leaving too, Tamaki," said Kyouya. "We're having an evaluation meeting... mostly about you."

"Wait!" Tamaki yelped. "As the president of the Ouran Host Club, I order you to see our plan through to the end!"

We stopped in our tracks, and then turned towards him. "We're not doing it," all of us bluntly replied, causing Tamaki to fall dramatically to the floor, and leaving no choice for him but to follow us back to the club room as he sulked.

All of the hosts, except for Tamaki, had already changed out of their cosplay and were discussing the issue with the newspaper club. We all agreed on one thing, and that was the fact that Akira came off as just a little sketchy. Tamaki, however, was curled up in his dark corner, fumbling around with the ball that had hit Akira. He pursed his lips, muttering that a club was like a family, and that their family was about to be broken up. While I understood that Tamaki took the concept of being a family seriously, it was obvious that Akira really did undermine Ukyo and Sakyo; that concept didn't really apply to them.

"He's such a child," Kyouya sighed.

"Would it really be that bad, though?" Haruhi asked. "It's only one article,"

"Since when did you decide to take the boss's side?" asked Hikaru.

Haruhi blankly stared at a pouting Tamaki in the corner. "Since never. Just listen up. I know that any second now, he's going to look over at us with those puppy eyes of his, and then none of us are going to be able to say no. He'll win that way if we allow him to continue what he's doing,"

"Let me guess, you're speaking from experience?" asked the twins.

Before Haruhi was able to respond, Tamaki slowly turned his head towards all of us. Haruhi was right; he did nail the whole puppy eyes thing. Unfortunately, even I began to feel sympathy from looking at the expression he made.

Kyouya pushed his glasses up, avoiding Tamaki's gaze. "There will be conditions," he said with a stern tone.

The dimwitted upperclassman gasped in joy, looking like he was about to give Kyouya the biggest hug imaginable. Kyouya continued, however, not changing his technical tone of voice. "The outline of their article will be submitted by us, and us only. Interviews are also strictly prohibited. It's also vital that our clients' identities be kept confidential. Are we clear?"

Tamaki beamed, nodding repeatedly.

Hikaru then looked over at Kyouya, and then at Kaoru. "Well, Kyouya-senpai, if it's cool with you,-"

"-then it's cool with us, too," Kaoru said, finishing off his twin's sentence.

"Alright, count us in, too, then," said Hani, taking one last bite of his cake. "Right, Takashi?"

Mori replied with a nod of approval. The decision was made that we'd help the newspaper club, although Kyouya did manage to develop a clever plan; one that really would work to our benefit if anything happened to go wrong. We wouldn't be finding out what exactly this plan was, though; not until what had happened over the next two days.

Although he decision was made that we'd give permission to the newspaper club for the article, all of us were still wary about what exactly Akira's intentions were. Especially me; the guy really seemed like he was plotting something, putting on some kind of front. In fact, I was going to meet them the following afternoon to grant them that permission, when Akira had said something to place all three of them under even more suspicion. I was reluctantly walking towards their club room the following afternoon, since Tamaki had practically pushed me out of our own club room to do so, I could have sworn that I heard Akira muttering something about the host club being both fake and incompetent.

I was fairly close to walking straight back to the music room because of this, wanting so badly to tell the hosts that we shouldn't be letting them write an article on us in the first place. However, what I wanted even more was to make them see that we were quite different from what he thought we were. So I opened the door with a bright smile on my face, greeting them with a small wave and bow as I walked over to the desk that all three of them were sitting at.

"Hello," Akira said. "May I help you? Ah, you're from the host club, aren't you? Please, have a seat; any one is fine," he said, motioning Ukyo and Sakyo to get up from their chairs.

"Thank you," I said, "but I'm sure Ukyo-san and Sakyo-san probably need the rest more than I do,"

The both of them waited for some sign of approval from Akira, which they got after a few seconds, and then sat back down in their chairs before quietly thanking me.

"Very well, then," Akira replied. "So may I ask you why exactly you've paid us a visit?"

"I've come to tell you that the host club decided to grant permission to you to write an article about us. However, interviews are prohibited, I'm afraid."

"What a pleasant surprise. Will we be able to observe all of you sometime tomorrow?"

"You may. Our club president would like me to tell you that we'll be meeting in the courtyard instead of Music Room Three,"

"Great," he said, a grin creeping up onto his face. "By the way, you're an honor student, aren't you? I believe that your name is Hiroshi Katou,"

"That's correct," I replied in a stern tone, hinting to him that I wasn't going to be doing any of this interview business.

"So I see," he chuckled. "So you're Suoh's messenger, are you?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, quite ready to reply with a witty comeback, but the sound of the door creaking open had made me turn around to find Kyouya. I was just a little surprised to see him there, wondering why he was standing with a small yellow box in his hand. It had a single Japanese character, reading Ootori, engraved on the cover.

He bowed his head slightly before walking over next to me. "Good evening," he said to Akira.

"Ah, Kyouya-san. What a coincidence. Hiroshi was just granting me permission to write an article about the host club,"

"Right," Kyouya replied. "So, how's that bump on your forehead feeling?"

If the bump had done anything at all to him, it probably turned him into more of a nutcase than he already was.

"Oh, this thing? I can barely feel it anymore. Besides, I do owe a lot to this bump. If that ball hadn't come flying through our window, we would have never come together for this article,"

"That's true, but we're still very sorry that it happened. So here," he said, placing the small box on the desk. He opened it up to reveal a small selection of medical supplies. "This is a first aid kit that was made by my family's company."

"Thank you," Akira replied. "I'll see you and the others tomorrow, then?"

Kyouya and I nodded, but before we were even able to take a step back towards to make our exit, Akira tried to start another conversation with us.

"It just dawned on me," he said. "Your family runs the Ootori Group, don't they?"

Kyouya reluctantly turned around. "That's correct. We mostly deal with hospital management,"

"Hence the first aid kit," replied Akira.

Kyouya merely nodded once again, wondering if Akira was going to say something else so that he wouldn't get whiplash from constantly trying to walk out. To our dismay, he kept on talking.

"I see. My father is a president as well... of the Komatsuzawa publishing firm,"

"I'm well aware of that. So is your plan to become successor to your father's company by running the school's newspaper club?"

"Essentially, yes. But you see," he began, his tone now becoming one full of malice. "My father tends to pick my younger brother over me when it comes to things. That includes the publishing firm. He's decided to hand it over to my brother instead of me, the eldest son,"

I realized that he all of the anger he put into his explanation seemed like nothing compared to those last two words, and it was then that he said something else that made the conversation even more uncomfortable for us.

"So Hiroshi," he began.

"Yes?"

"How exactly did someone of your social standing come into contact with the host club? After all, it is nearly the end of the school year, and you still aren't wearing the proper school uniform."

The twins often teased me about that fact, although I just shrugged it off whenever they did it. They were only joking, and besides, Tamaki's father, the chairman of the school, had made an exception at the request of his son. However, when someone like Akira made such a statement, I wasn't alright with it. As if his comment wasn't sure to set something off in me already, though, he had the nerve to mutter another smart comment about the hosts. I took a step towards him, ready to make a comeback of some sort, but Kyouya had gotten a hold of my wrist and began to speak before I could even open my mouth.

"We'll be leaving, so please excuse us. Good evening," he said, being as calm and collected as he was when speaking to a guest.

He pulled me by my wrist over to the opening and shut the door behind us. My head was still turned towards the sign above the door that read Newspaper Club, but Kyouya didn't let go of me until we were at the far end of the hallway.

"Senpai," I said, turning towards him after we stopped walking, "we really shouldn't be allowing them to write this article,"

"But that'll take all the fun out of it, Hiroshi," he replied, a small grin now forming on his face.

"The fun?"

"Just trust me. With the obvious signs that they're giving off, it's plain to see what their true intentions are. Just listen to the way they talked about Tamaki. Do you really think I'm going to let them get away with it?"

After a few seconds of staring at his grin, I figured I'd let Kyouya's plans (whatever they may have been) make this situation end with a good outcome.

"Does this have to do with that first aid kit you gave them?"

"You're a clever young woman, Hiroshi," he said.

"I'm guessing that's a yes,"

He laughed halfheartedly. "We'll discuss plans later."

The following afternoon was another one that would become another memorable series of moments. In the courtyard, the sun was blazing in the sky, and Tamaki and the twins had begged Haruhi and I to teach them more of what they liked to call commoners games. They loved playing Kick the Can, and so they figured any other games that we knew of would be just as fun and interesting. Tamaki daydreamed about the article that the newspaper club would be writing rather than being wary about it. His idea of their intentions were completely different from ours.

"I can just see the front page now!" he beamed. "'The Handsome Boys of the Host Club Enjoy Commoners Games!' The article will include pictures of all of the host club members and their designer, frolicking in the courtyard and playing a wide variety of commoners games!"

Haruhi and I stared blankly at him, worried about the fact that he was so trusting of such people. In a matter of minutes, though, we wound up playing a game called Darumasan Ga Koronda, meaning 'The Daruma Doll Fell Over'. Tamaki was facing a tree, his eyes closed. The rest of us stood quite a distance away from him, and whenever he'd turn around to look at us, we would stop walking and stand frozen in place.

"The Daruma doll fell o-ver! The Daruma doll fell over!" he shouted, swinging his head around after every 'over'.

At one point, I needed to balance myself on one foot and nearly fell over, but fortunately Tamaki had turned back towards the tree so that we all could start to walk again.

"_The Daruma doll fell over!_" he shouted more loudly than he ever did shout that phrase today, and turned towards all of us again.

Kyouya had moved his hand just slightly, but stood frozen in place once more as Tamaki stared him down. "Aha!" he shouted. "Kyouya, I saw you move!"

"Excuse me?"

"Just stop whining and get over here!"

Kyouya sighed and began to walk in Tamaki's direction. "Alright, alright,"

While he slowly made his way towards Tamaki, Haruhi walked sluggishly, which I assume caught the attention of Akira. He stood with a small notepad in one hand and a pen in the other, and Ukyo and Sakyo were in charge of the photos. I heard him mutter something about Haruhi being the commoner in question. He then walked over to Haruhi, and since I was in earshot, I was able to hear their conversation.

"You're Haruhi Fujioka, aren't you?"

"Yeah," she shrugged.

"Is it true that you joined the host club by force?"

"Well-"

"Never mind. So tell me, does Tamaki Suoh have a dark side? If you could tell me a few things about him, I just might be able to set you free from this club,"

Haruhi seemed to shrug off the part about being freed from the host club, but answered the question anyways. "Hm. Well, I don't think he even has a dark side. Not one that I know of, anyways,"

"But that's impossible. Have you ever seen-"

"Chop!" the twins shouted simultaneously, swinging their hands in a knife-like motion down the middle of the space between Hiroshi and Akira. Their conversation was over.

All of the hosts and I, except for Tamaki and Kyouya, were running as fast as they could in the opposite direction. Tamaki and Kyouya were facing the tree together, and Kyouya was reluctantly holding his hand.

Tamaki turned his head towards us. "That's isn't what you were supposed to chop, you know!" he shouted at us, waving his and Kyouya's hands in the air.

His attention span seemed to be relatively short for that game, though, and so he decided we should play another game of Kick the Can. He really did get into that game the last time we played it, given that he had the ability to kick an object rather far.

"Okay, Kyouya, you be it," Tamaki said.

"If I must," Kyouya sighed.

Tamaki then walked towards the can, Kyouya's eyes now hidden. "Starlight, kick!" he shouted, then grabbing Haruhi by the hand and running towards the hedge maze excitedly. I was nervous for Haruhi; I was sure he was probably going to get the both of them lost.

The newspaper club then apologized and said that they'd have to be leaving, walking off in the opposite direction. They seemed to have given up on finding anything scandalous about the hosts, and so they were probably plotting something else. As soon as they were out of earshot, though, Kyouya had stopped counting, and then looked at the three of them with a confident grin on his face. He then motioned all of us over (with the exception of Haruhi and Tamaki, who weren't supposed to be with us when we carried out our plan, anyways). "Let's go," he said.

All of us made a dash for a short cut that would take us to the newspaper club room. That way, we'd get there much sooner than those three would. All of us came bursting through the separate entrance, and we took our places in the room. Hikaru and Kaoru sat next to each other on top of Akira's desk, and the rest of us were lined up at their sides. Kyouya picked up the first aid kit he gave to Akira yesterday, and pressed a small button on the cover. Audio followed. It was the sound of Akira, saying the lines he spoke towards the end of our conversation yesterday.

"He's decided to hand it over to my brother instead of me, the eldest son," he said through several small holes on the side of the box.

"A recording device, huh?" I asked.

"You guessed correctly when you thought it had something to do with the first aid kit," Kyouya replied.

"Hm," I smiled.

"Quite talking, you two love birds, we wanna hear," the twins whispered.

I scowled, and just as I was about to open my mouth to shout at the two of them, I realized that the box was just about to begin playing what Akira had said after our conversation.

"We'll be leaving, so please excuse us. Good evening," I heard Kyouya's voice calmly say from the small speaker, followed by the sound of the door shutting.

"President," we heard Ukyo say, "were you just trying to win over Kyouya Ootori?"

We could hear the sneer in Akira's voice then. "Yes. But it's Suoh who's my real enemy here. Originally, I started up the newspaper club in order to gain popularity here at Ouran Academy. But Suoh just had to come in with his stupid host club, and suddenly he was the big man on campus."

"B-But sir," we could hear Sakyo nervously stammer, "I thought that when you started the club originally, it was still as unpopular as it is now,"

"That's enough!" shouted Akira. "One more word out of you, and I'll call Mother and have her cut off all contact with your families."

Silence followed, and Ukyo and Sakyo said nothing for the rest of the tape. Only Akira continued with his rant. "Their stupid host club isn't even affiliated with any sports clubs or cultural clubs, and doesn't even have an advisor! All they do in that club is fake romance. Those poor girls; if only they knew that they were being used. It's just another excuse for Suoh to flaunt his power. He probably uses his parents' power to make the school think that he's some sort of idol!"

He stopped and took an audibly deep breath before continuing. "Every one of those hosts, especially Kyouya Ootori, should have been under me!"

Kyouya nearly laughed at Akira's statement, but settled for a smirk so that we could hear more of the audio.

"Tamaki Suoh is more shrewd than one would think. Sure, he puts on an act to make everyone think that he's a nice guy, but I'm certain that he has a dark side. I'll make sure to come up with a scandal to write that article on. That'll teach him a lesson!"

The sound of a loud click then sounded from the box, and the tape had finished playing. Kyouya set it right back down on the desk, and then we all got back into our places, quite ready to teach Akira a lesson. He was the one who needed it. The sound of his voice sounded throughout the hallway. "That's it. I'm writing the article!" he exclaimed, his statement echoing.

"But President! You can't; you don't have any proof!" Ukyo exclaimed.

"He's right, President; Suoh's way too dangerous to mess with!" Sakyo hastily added on.

Akira's voice only became louder. "Just watch me. If I set my mind to it, I can come up with any number of articles or stories it takes to cause a commotion among the idiots of this academy! Now we need to make a plan to set Suoh up, and we'll be..."

His voice trailed off. He stood before us, dumbfounded, looking nervously at the twins.

"So it was true," Kaoru grinned.

"You," Akira huffed.

"Well, I guess it was pretty obvious," Hikaru said.

Kaoru nodded. "Yeah. The boss is the only one who hasn't caught on yet. He can be pretty dense when it comes to anything that pertains to himself."

"I should warn you, if you threaten him, there will be consequences."

"Are you ready to have the Hitachiins and every other club member's parents as your enemies?"

Akira grunted, beads of sweat dripping down his neck. "I knew it! Tamaki is holding his parents' power against all of you!" he shouted.

"That's not true," Hani said innocently. "We don't hang out with him because of his parents. We love him," he smiled, "and we like being around him. So that's why we choose to be with him in the host club,"

"He may be a hopeless idiot," Kyouya said, "but even so..."

His voice trailed off. Although the other hosts weren't paying much attention, I knew he was trying to hide his smile by turning away momentarily.

Akira then looked over at me, as if wondering what a commoner would have to say about all of it.

"Tamaki-senpai can be a real clown sometimes, and so can they," I said, pointing to the other hosts. "But he really does care about us, and personally, I'm happy being a part of the host club. That's one of the main reasons why I decided to become their designer; because he treats us like we're his family,"

"But didn't he force you to join?" Akira scowled.

I shook my head from side to side. "Kyouya-senpai was the one who asked me to join in the first place. It wasn't by force at all. I was the one who made the decision to be in the host club, and if I really didn't want to be a part of it all, I would have said no, and it would have ended there. I'm sure it's like that with the others as well,"

I turned to find each of them smiling at me, and it was then that Hani spoke. "So leave Tama-chan alone, okay?" he asked, his tone of voice still as innocent and pure as it was before.

"I'll get you all," Akira growled, "It's not about just him anymore. I'm going to write an article that'll ruin all of you!"

Kyouya picked the first aid kit up from the desk and flipped it over to reveal a small opening. "Be my guest," he said, then popping a small CD out, "but what do you think we should do with this little disc here? You see, it's been here since yesterday, and it recorded everything,"

Ukyo and Sakyo stared at us in terror, and kept telling Akira to give up already. So that's what he did. He fell to his knees, looking quite exhausted.

Kyouya walked over to him. "Let me explain it to you in terms you can understand," he said. "The Ootori Group and the Hitachiin family alone have enough money and social standing to remove your father from his position of president of the Komatsuzawa Publishing Firm,"

Akira froze and looked up at Kyouya in terror.

"But you see," Kyouya said, "We would never do something of that sort; we are not like you. What we strive for is fundamentally different."

After all three of them stood up again, bowing, we decided it was time to find Haruhi and Tamaki.

"Looks like our work here is done," Hikaru and Kaoru said simultaneously.

So with that, we walked out into the courtyard and made our way through the hedge maze, and found Haruhi and Tamaki sitting together at the same place Kyouya and I sat at when we hid. "Found you," Kyouya said.

The hosts waited on the curb together for their parents to pick them up, and I figured I'd wait with them. It probably wouldn't take too long. First Tamaki's limo came, and then Mori and Hani rode together. The twins, Haruhi, Kyouya and I were the only ones standing there at that point in time, and then another limo pulled up. Instead of Kyouya opening the door and stepping inside, though, another man came out. He looked like the much older version of Kyouya, and it was then that I realized that the man was his father, Yoshio. I met him at Fuyumi's rehearsal dinner for her wedding. He peered around at us, and then turned towards Kyouya again as he spoke.

"Well, Kyouya," he began.

Kyouya bowed his head, and then looked at his father again. "Yes, father?"

"There's a woman that I'd like you to meet. Her name is Nanako Shouji, the daughter of one of the families who we have dealings with in Spain."

"In Spain?"

All of us stared, wondering what his father was going to say next. One thing was for sure, and that was the fact that we were in for a shock.

"You'll be traveling to Spain at the beginning of summer. I believe that your vacation is only a week away,"

"That's correct, father," Kyouya replied.

"You should start packing."

Kyouya nodded. "Yes, father,"

There was an uncomfortable silence that ensued. The air suddenly seemed so dense that I just wanted to break the silence and end the tension.

"Good," Yoshio said. "As of two weeks from that point, you two are to be married."


	22. An Encounter in Spain

— _Chapter 22 _—

_**An Encounter in Spain**_

* * *

There was no possible way for me to take Yuzuha Hitachiin's offer for the full internship this year; I would be far too busy this summer. She did say that I was free to do it anytime else that I was able to, though, so I was good for this time around. What would my hands be full with, you might ask? Well, besides taking care of Mom and doing chores at home, I had two other places I needed to be over the course of two months. For the last one-third of vacation, I'd be in Kuruizawa with Haruhi. Before that, though, I'd be traveling to Spain for two weeks. I know, I know. One might wonder why I'd be taking a two-week trip to Spain if I couldn't even afford half of the ticket. Kyouya offered to pay for Haruhi and I for the host club's trip there, but we did chip in a little so that we wouldn't have as much guilt hanging over us for fourteen days. However, we weren't really going to Spain as the host club. It was mainly Kyouya's trip, which he was taking with his father, and we were merely friends who were tagging along.

You see, Kyouya's father stopped by that one day when the newspaper club had decided not to do their article on us after all. While all of us were quite shocked to find out that Kyouya was to be married to a woman named Nanako Shouji in two weeks, Kyouya wanted us to at least come with him. Some strange feeling took over me, though. I wondered if she was pretty, and I didn't take a liking to the thought of Kyouya spending the rest of his life with her. I kept wondering why Kyouya didn't protest, either. I didn't know why I felt this way; I couldn't put my finger on it. Although I really was excited to travel to Spain and thankful that Kyouya had paid for Haruhi and I to go, I couldn't help the sinking feeling in my stomach that was occurring when I thought about meeting his soon-to-be fiancée.

Haruhi and I carefully put out luggage into the storage compartment of one of the Ootori family's private jets, unlike the other hosts. They tossed their bags into the opening with no hesitation, telling us that we could have just done the same. The two of us put packing lightly into consideration when deciding what to bring for the trip; the jet might have come crashing down if we added any more to the weight of the hosts' luggage. And just like that, we were up in the air, on our way to Barcelona.

"Hey Kyouya-senpai, who exactly is this Nanako girl?" Hikaru asked.

All of us were glad to be flying on a separate jet from Kyouya's father. We found it much easier to breathe, and we were able to ask questions about his family's "dealings" more openly than if we had been monitored by such a rigid man.

"She's the Shouji family's only daughter," Kyouya replied casually. "The Shouji General is one of Spain's leading oil companies, and so he believes it'll be beneficial to our company if I marry her."

"Do you agree, Senpai?" I asked, immediately questioning why I'd said such a thing out loud.

But Kyouya seemed to take my question in more of a business-like manner, which I was grateful for. "A lot of couples our age who have marriage meetings don't make it to the altar, so it's likely that it'll be that way with me and Nanako as well."

"But would it mean that you won't be able to be in the host club anymore, Kyou-chan?" Hani asked.

All of us froze, especially me. I stared at Kyouya, who was sitting right next to me. The fact that Hani asked such a question had only increased the amount of the sinking feeling I was having in my stomach, but I was relieved a great deal when Kyouya replied to us reassuringly.

"I'll do what I can to ensure that it wouldn't happen that was," he said. "Again, there's not a large chance of a successful meeting."

"Okay, that's good," Hani smiled in reply despite the bit of doubt in his eyes.

It was so strange to hear Kyouya talking about his possible marriage in the future with such ease. His reasoning was probably either one of two things; he really didn't believe it was possible for it to happen, or he just didn't want to talk about it in a serious manner. One thing was for certain: in a way, we weren't starting the day off on the right foot.

The mood might not have been as dismal throughout the day as they were on the flight, though. Maybe things would be better once we reached our destination, but in the meantime, we took several long naps to pass the time. We'd certainly be needing the energy.

Hani leaned on Mori's arm and clutched Usa-chan as he snoozed, his bunny blanket covering him and some of Mori (Hani didn't want him to be cold). Hikaru and Kaoru fell asleep next to each other, sharing a blanket as well, and I nearly laughed at Tamaki's expression when he offered to share a blanket with Haruhi, and she told him to stop dreaming and got a separate blanket for herself. It wasn't long before I fell asleep, either. I assumed that Kyouya was going to sleep last, although the last memory I had before falling asleep was having a warm blanket draped over me.

Next thing I know, my vision was clearing up just slightly as I opened my eyes, and I found Kyouya's closed eyes were right there as I looked up. My first thought, other than the fact that Kyouya was there, sleeping peacefully, was that the reason I was feeling warm wasn't only the blanket being wrapped around me. I was curled up in Kyouya's arms, my head rested on his shoulder. I gulped and rubbed my eyes vigorously, and before I could move, Kyouya woke up as well. He clearly was not a morning person; I could tell by the extremely angry expression he had on his face when he opened his eyes. So, because he just might have bitten my head off at any moment, I jumped back so that I was standing and covered him with my blanket instead.

"Senpai, you can go back to sleep," I said nervously and quietly.

He rubbed his eyes groggily, and after staring at the wall with a death glare for quite a while (which nearly made me run and jump out of the plane with a parachute altogether), he looked at me with an expression that was only slightly grumpy. "You'll be cold," he muttered.

Now that I thought about it, it was cold. The air conditioning on the jet must have been set to an extremely low temperature, and so I tried to hide the fact that I was shivering slightly. "What are you talking about? I'm completely fine," I declared.

"You moron," he sighed, grabbing ahold of my hand and then pulling me back down right next to him. "There aren't any extra blankets," he said. "So you're going to have to share with me."

"But—"

Before I could protest any further, Kyouya had the both of us wrapped up in the blanket, curled up right next to each other without any distance between us. I could feel the blood rushing to my face as he pulled me closer.

"S-Senpai, just take the—"

"Let me sleep," he muttered.

"Fine," I huffed.

What a moron! I could have easily shared a blanket with Haruhi, but before he even gave me a chance to speak, he did this. I was too afraid to wake him up again, though, since he'd probably bite my head off for real this time around. So I decided it would just be smarter to sit there and divert my attention towards something else. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea, though; I began to stress out about Kyouya's engagement, and became wary even more so because I wasn't sure why I was stressing out over this whole wedding-planning business.

In a matter of hours, I had to wake up again, and so did Kyouya and the rest of the hosts. We were here, in Barcelona. It took a while for Kyouya to wake up (and for his expression to settle into normality again), but the other hosts were extremely enthusiastic about it, running towards our hotel with their bags in their hands. The security had called after them hastily, saying that they would get the luggage for them.

They turned their heads around. "It's okay!" Tamaki said.

"Yeah! This is the way commoners do it!" the twins grinned simultaneously, continuing to run.

The rest of us stepped out, feeling a pang of heat and humidity from the summer air. I wondered if I could possibly reach equilibrium by standing in the middle: one side in the jet, which was extremely cold, and one half outside, which was the polar opposite. But I couldn't. We had to check in to the place we were going to keep our luggage while we were out sightseeing for the day.

I wondered why we didn't just keep our luggage in the jet, but the hosts figured that we might as well get unpacking over with if we were staying there for the next two weeks. We wouldn't be seeing Nanako until the next morning, anyways. She was going to be running a little late due to her classes in Madrid.

The twins saw a group of girls that were around our age, and so Hikaru pulled Kaoru closer to him. "Oh, Kaoru," he sighed dreamily. "Mi amor."

Kaoru blushed. "Hikaru... Quiero estar contigo para siempre."

My eyes widened, and I wondered how girls in a different country would react. They were talking about this for a while on the flight in between our naps, wondering if the girls in Spain would react similarly to the guests in Japan if they did their twincest act in Spanish. Hikaru first started by calling Kaoru his 'love' or 'lover' in Spanish, and Kaoru, in the same language, said that he wanted to be with Hikaru forever. I expected the group of girls to look at them weirdly and walk away, but instead, they blushed and giggled. Anyone could have mistaken them for our guests, however, when the twins had done something else to have them on the verge of squealing.

"Wow! Hiro-chan, can you smell that yummy food? I think they're called churros!" exclaimed Hani, pointing to a platter that people eating right next to us. My Spanish teacher often referred to them as Spanish doughnuts.

The twins and Tamaki seemed to be having fun, talking constantly about the history of Spain and its famous masterpieces aswe walked through the city. Although the heat from the blazing sun was a little overwhelming, the beautiful buildings that could be seen left and right allowed us to divert our attention to them instead.

"It's so pretty here!" Hani beamed.

Mori smiled at Hani and gave a small nod of approval.

"Whoa! Check this out, guys!" Hikaru and Kaoru exclaimed simultaneously.

The both of the pointed to a large building that seemed to be covered in vines, but was so detailed in its carvings and decorations. They began to explain, in awe, about the history of this piece of architecture in particular; apparently they really did absorb the information that our Spanish teacher taught us about in class. Knowing what I do about their attention spans, it was a wonder that they were able to absorb that much information.

"It's therefore called the Paris of the South!" the both of them concluded, sighing dreamily and glancing up at the building once more before we headed off to see more.

"I'd like to see the rout that Don Quixote traveled!" Tamaki beamed, starry-eyed. "Let's travel from La Mancha on a horse!"

The twins threw a fit of laughter, falling to their knees and pounding their fists into the ground.

"That'll take years, Tamaki," Kyouya sighed. "We're only going to be here for two weeks."

"Tama-chan is a lot like Don Quixote in a way," Hani said innocently.

"There was no freer spirit than Don Quixote!" Tamaki said indignantly, crossing his arms. "No outside force could possibly control his spirit, and I find him by no means laughable!"

"That's why we find him laughable!" the twins exclaimed simultaneously, still laughing their heads off.

Then something seemed to come to their attention, and so the jumped up and ran up to Kyouya, taking turns speaking.

"Hey Kyouya-senpai!"

"What is it, Kaoru?"

"Do you think that maybe we could see—"

"—the Hospital de Sant Pau?"

"Yeah! Your family is involved with hospital management, right? I bet you could grant us access, even though the building is still under construction!"

"Well, not exactly," Kyouya replied.

After the twins stopped begging Kyouya and trying to persuade him, their attention was diverted to other masterpieces and architecture as we walked on by. Kyouya did offer some explanation of the history along the way. "That one was created by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, and that one by Antoni Gaudi," he'd say, and we all wondered how on earth he knew so much. He claimed to have done some research in advance.

It cooled down once dusk came, and so we were able to enjoy the city in comfort. It was nice to be able to observe the beauty of the city without having to squint constantly. We were exhausted by the time we reached the hotel, though, and so we plopped down on our beds. They figured that sharing two connecting suites would save up money, and Tamaki, of course, thought that it was 'the way commoners did so'. He almost completed that phrase, although Haruhi had sent a scowl his way before he could finish. He was too sleepy to go into his dark corner, however, just as the other hosts were.

There were two beds in each of the two rooms. Hikaru and Kaoru, of course, shared a bed, and were in a deep sleep next to each other. Although Mori told Hani that he'd sleep on the ground so that Hani could have the bed to himself, Hani still managed to work something out. He too was in a deep sleep, and Mori was laying on a cushioned platform made of most of the pillows previously on Hani's bed. Tamaki and Haruhi were in separate beds. Haruhi was already fast asleep on the left side, and naturally, since we were the only females in the group, we shared the full-sized mattress. But I wasn't quite ready to go to sleep yet despite all the walking we did today; the hotel room had a rather large balcony, and I didn't want to leave without getting a view of the city at night.

I breathed in the warm summer air, shutting my eyes and listening to the sounds of the city while the smell of Spanish food lingered in the air. My eyes widened slightly when I really realized how far up we were, but soon adapted to it, and was able to take in the view of the lights and the people, chatting excitedly in what I made out to be Spanish. I pulled up the straps of my tank top, and after turning around and taking a brief backwards glance, stretched my hand towards the handle to pull the door open. But the action was already done for me.

I should have known that Kyouya would be standing right there; he seemed to have this knack for tracking down where I was and then going there.

His damp bangs covered the majority of his forehead, and he was just putting his glasses on. From the looks of his robe, I assumed that he'd just taken a shower. "Hiroshi?"

"Hey, Senpai," I said.

"Shouldn't you be asleep? You'll need the rest."

"Look who's talking," I halfheartedly laughed.

The both of us walked over to where we were able to look out at the city again. He stared down at the overall scene pensively, as if he had his mind on something else.

"Is everything alright?" I asked.

"Well," he began, sighing. "It has to do with the wedding, I can tell you that much."

"I figured that," I said. "But Senpai, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

He looked over at me, and his eyes were half open from growing sleepier by the minute. "The same applies to you."

I nodded and smiled. "You should go to sleep, or you'll be even grumpier in the morning."

He yawned again. "Oh, will I?"

I was about to remind Kyouya that he was quite possibly the crankiest person alive when waking up, but it wasn't of much use at the moment.

Letting out a sigh with his eyes closed, he placed both of his hands on the sides of my arms and rested his forehead on my shoulder. As I furrowed my brow and felt my face beginning to flush, I could have sworn he began to snooze, so I held his shoulders and pushed him away.

"I meant to go to sleep in your bed, Senpai," I said, giving him a weird look.

"Ah, right," he replied drowsily. He would have made a witty comment before doing so if he was thinking correctly, but I couldn't blame him. He wasn't in his right mind at that point, and the fact that he was exhausted certainly didn't help.

I placed my hand on the shoulder he'd rested his head on. A bit of warmth was still there.

My eyes widened a little at such a thought and I shook my head quickly, dashing back over to the door.

Our predicament began to sink in once I began to walk over to my own bed. Kyouya was going to be getting married. Married, at the age of seventeen; it was almost absurd to the point where we wer placed in some sort of euphoric denial. Stress began to build within me for reasons I couldn't really explain.

The thought crossed my mind that it could possibly be slight envy, but I grunted and shook my head once more, climbing into bed next to a sleeping Haruhi. Tamaki was asleep in the bed that was next to us, clutching his teddy bear and grinning like an idiot. I wondered if he was really awake, but he was really having a dream.

"Oh Haruhi, you're quite adorable yourself!" he sighed dreamily, looking like much more of a dazed fan of hers than the princely host he claimed to be.

Even though I was exhausted at that point, I needed to fight the urge to laugh. Everyone was asleep, and Kyouya wouldn't be too happy if he was woken up, especially since he was sleeping on an air matress on the floor beside me. He'd turned down Tamaki's offer to share a bed with him.

I couldn't blame him; Tamaki was tossing and turning all over the place, and took up the entire bed since he was sprawled out, not to mention his persistent sleep-talking about Haruhi.

Even though the wedding was scheduled to be two weeks from now, I still wasn't able to fully grasp that this family-like setting, would change drastically. Thinking just that, I drifted off to sleep.

Time passes too quickly while sleeping; it almost felt as though I'd passed out for two seconds in an alternate universe, and I woke up with the sun shining in my face soon thereafter. I could hear window curtains being yanked away, and although my eyes were closed, the bright sunlight still managed to flood my vision.

"Hiroshi," I heard the twins say simultaneously.

The shook me, and I swatted their hands away. "I'm sleepy," I muttered, feeling as though Kyouya's sleeping habits might have rubbed off on me.

I made an attempt to pull the covers over me, but they had grabbed the blanket and pulled it away from me completely. They were lucky that the air was warm enough for me not to be shivering, or else I would have given them abnormally hard pinches in their arms; three times over. I rubbed my eyes and yawned deeply.

"Time to get up!" they chorused. I opened my eyes groggily to find the both of them, swinging from side to side together.

"C'mon, Hiro-chan! It's time to wake up!" Hani beamed.

I yawned deeply again before sitting up. I exhaled, stretching my arms forwards and upwards, and it was then that I realized I'd woken up after both Kyouya and Hani; the two people who hated waking up the most. Because of this, I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom as quickly as I could to get dressed, and then dashed out.

"Hiroshi," Kyouya began.

"What?"

"Your hair," he replied, reaching over and pushing a stray bang back.

I swatted his hands away. "I'll get it!" I said, trying to smooth it down vigorously.

There wasn't any time for the twins to giggle about it; we were out the door and in a limousine within minutes, sitting across from Kyouya's father and body guards.

"The Shouji family manor," Kyouya's father stated when the driver asked where he needed to go.

Things were awkward on the way there for all of us; especially Kyouya. He had to keep bowing his head and replying with a yes to everything his father instructed him to do. I was taken by surprise; Yoshio really didn't seem to care about Kyouya's feelings or opinions in the slightest, but something told me that caring for such things wasn't an option most of the time when it came to his family's status and wealth. That only worsened the feeling.

I wondered, as everyone else probably did, why Kyouya would be getting married at such a young age. I guess his father wanted to seal the deal already and get it over with.

Just as Yoshio had given one last order to his son, the car slowed, and eventually came to a stop in the driveway. Here we were, in front of the Shouji family manor; one of the largest and most beautiful mansions I've ever seen. I thought glumly that maybe she would be a good match for Kyouya, but would have smacked myself in the head afterwards if Kyouya's father wasn't around. I took a deep breath, smiling when the hosts peered over at me, trying to get rid of the sinking feeling I was having in my stomach. I didn't know why on earth I felt the way I did, and so I just tried to avoid it. But that certainly didn't last for very long.

We walked inside, following the Ootori family's body guards into what could have been the living room. I couldn't tell. Who would? In a place as big as this, there were probably several other rooms similar to this one.

A lady came over to greet us, smiling charmingly. The first thing that came to mind was the fact that she was extremely pretty. Her skin was golden and glowing, her hair was wavy and shiny, and her dark eyes were complimented by the black blazer she wore.

"Good morning," the man beside her said. He was much older, and so I assumed he was her father.

"Good morning to you too, Shouji-san," Yoshio replied, shaking hands with him. "So I assume that this is Nanako?"

She's Nanako? I wondered mentally, staring at the ground.

"Hello," she said, smiling at each of us.

I smiled back, although still weak in my knees. So this was the woman Kyouya would be marrying in two weeks.

Kyouya hesitated, and then grinned charmingly. But something wasn't quite the same about the grin he was able to do with the guests back at home. It had some sort of reluctance to it. So that was it; he was faking it. "Pleased to meet you," he said, bowing his head and giving her a mere handshake.

"Likewise," she replied.

She then looked over towards us with slight curiosity in her eyes. "Ah, so these are your friends you said you'd be bringing here?" she asked.

"That's correct,"

"Well," began Kyouya's father, "The two of us will be discussing business elsewhere. I believe you should be heading back to your hotel rooms. The car is still out front,"

He looked at me and the hosts (minus Kyouya) as though we were nuisances.

Hani, not on Mori's shoulders this time, shrugged. "Alright, Kyou-chan. We'll see you later,"

"Yeah," I muttered, giving one last smile before turning in the opposite direction.

"Mr. Ootori," Nanako began, taking all of us by surprise, "I actually wouldn't mind if they stayed! I'd like to meet Kyouya's friends,"

Yoshio peered over at us again, and then let out a reluctant sigh. "Very well," he said, walking off in the other direction with Nanako's father.

Nanako, the hosts, and I were left standing there in silence. It was awkward for the first few seconds, but Nanako decided to step forward and speak. "Well, they're finally gone. Thank goodness. Please, have a seat, all of you,"

We walked over to the two sofas that were facing each other, and she continued.

"So, I hear that you all are a host club in Japan," she said.

Tamaki suddenly jumped up to give her an explanation, all awkwardness gone that he could have possibly been feeling. "That's right!" he exclaimed. "I'm the princely—"

"That's correct," Kyouya responded coolly, cutting Tamaki off by covering his mouth.

"And who are these two lovely young ladies?" she smiled, looking over at Haruhi and I.

Yes, I was still anxious, but I felt just a little relieved at the fact that she didn't come off as some snobby, uptight person. In fact, she seemed quite genuine.

Haruhi didn't need to dress as a boy for this trip. No guests, no other classmates; just us.

"She's Haruhi Fujioka," said Kyouya. "She's a host as well,"

"Wait, but if she's a girl, then..."

"Well, Haruhi's situation is a little complicated," the twins said simultaneously.

Before Nanako could ask anything, Kyouya offered an explanation. "This is Hiroshi Katou," he said, placing his hand on my shoulder. "She's the host club's designer,"

"That must be quite exciting for you!" she said. "Pleased to meet all of you," she said after Kyouya had pointed out what the rest of the hosts' names were. She then looked in another direction anxiously. "Please excuse me for a bit," she said.

"Where are you going?" the twins asked bluntly, with no formal addressing whatsoever.

"You'll find out," she said, a grin forming on her lips as she dashed towards wherever she was headed to.

"Haruhi, go after her to see what she's up to," the twins said, poking her sides and tickling her.

After trying so hard to not laugh that she looked like she was having a seizure, Haruhi got up and pounded her fists into the tops of their heads. "Fine, I'll go! You could've just asked!" she huffed. "Hiroshi, wanna go with me?"

I nodded and walked after her hurriedly.

"Now which way did she go?" Haruhi asked.

"Er..." I began, and then pointed slightly to the left.

We wondered what on earth Nanako could have possibly been doing. Was she getting something? Was she trying to pull a prank on us? Whatever the reason was, we were sure to find out soon enough.

There she was, crouching down on a small table beside an open window. She was looking down, grinning mischievously, as if she were about to escape by jumping from all the way up here.

"Er, Miss Nanako?" I gulped.

Her head turned quickly, but her shocked expression faded. "Oh, hello, you two," she said.

"What exactly are you doing?" asked Haruhi.

"Isn't it obvious?" she sighed. "Marriage is for older people who don't have lives. I'm only in college,"

"College?" Haruhi and I asked simultaneously.

She nodded. "I'm a first-year. You know, I have no idea why my father chose a second-year high school student to be my fiancée. So if I've already run away from other arranged marriages to actual men who are my age, I can certainly run away from this one. Hah! Stupid guards. There are so many of them in this household, yet they can't stop a single woman from escaping,"

She clearly didn't want to marry Kyouya; she didn't want to marry anyone. Not on her terms. "So would you ladies please do me a favor and not tell anyone?" she smiled coolly.

Before Haruhi and I could respond, she leapt out of the window.

"Miss Nanako!" Haruhi gulped.

We rushed over to the opening, exhaling in relief once we saw her safely land on the ground. She stood up, looked up at us, and winked, leaving us staring at her dumbfoundedly. I wondered how she managed to land so gracefully. Maybe it was practice from all of the other times she attempted to escape.

"Miss Shouji, what are you doing?" a man asked.

The man turned out to be one of the Ootori family's body guards, staring at her curiously. "Have you failed to find a proper exit?" he asked.

We heard her sigh heavily, and she ran back in while the guards still continued to wonder about how it was humanly possible for one to do what she just did. Haruhi and I decided to walk back to where the hosts were; Nanako would probably be entering through that way.

We were correct. She opened the door, shutting it behind her after she walked in. She appeared to be quite winded from the running. "Your family guards, I assume?" she asked, raising an eyebrow to Kyouya.

"Yes," he replied. "You see, my father has spoken with yours several times about the marriage issue. So since your father told mine that you often acted this way when it came to situations like these, my father decided to bring more of our security guards along,"

"Great," she said.

"I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience,"

She shrugged. "I guess I should have expected that to happen anyways. Hey, I apologize for not mentioning so earlier, but my father has several guest rooms open. We have more than enough to accommodate you all, so if you'd like to stay here instead of a cramped hotel room, you're more than welcome,"

"Sounds good," the twins replied, shrugging.

I only blinked at them. Our two connecting hotel rooms were huge to begin with.

"And your siblings will be staying here as well, Kyouya?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yuuichi and Akito should be arriving tomorrow, but Fuyumi..."

His voice trailed off as he read a text message he'd just received. He continued, putting his cell phone back into his pocket. "She just told me that she'll be walking through the doors any minute now."

"Oh, good," she replied, smiling. "The more people we have settled in sooner, the better,"

I smiled. At least Fuyumi would be here. She treated me like I was her own daughter. Nanako was nice, it's just... well, she's Kyouya's fiancée, and I'd feel more comfortable with Fuyumi being around anyways.

Hani smiled. "Look! It's Fuyumi-chan!"

"Hello, Hani," I heard her laugh softly from behind us.

I turned around, smiling and waving at her, and she did the same. She probably would have run up to me and pinched my cheeks if we weren't in this setting.

After all of us greeted her, she walked over to Nanako, her joyous expression faded just slightly. "It's nice to meet you, Nanako," she said.

Nanako bowed. "Likewise, Miss Fuyumi,"

After introductions were over, she ruffed Kyouya's hair up (despite the fact that she was shorter than him). "Well, Kyouya, have you been enjoying Spain so far?"

He pushed his glasses up. "We've all been sightseeing,"

"So I see," she replied.

It was then that his bodyguards, Nanako's father, and Yoshio entered the room. Fuyumi greeted her father similarly to the way Kyouya did, although she had a warm, welcoming smile on her face in the midst of bowing.

"Hello, father," she said.

"Hello, Fuyumi. So," he began, now looking at all of us, "Am I right to believe that you will be staying here for the remainder of these two weeks?"

We nodded.

"Here, I'll show you to your rooms," said Nanako, afterwards instructing workers to heave our luggage up one of the staircases.

Haruhi and I didn't find it necessary to have too much of a guilt trip. We only packed one large bag each, after all, unlike the hosts, who each brought about five times as much over here. Plus, we offered to help them carry the luggage. They said that they were fine, and people as small as we were could get injured while heaving them up the stairs, but the two of us insisted anyways. They would have to agree with us at some point, and so that's exactly what they did.

We each carried two bags up, panting after plopping them down on the floor. After the guards exited, Nanako told us she'd be right back and that she was only getting a drink. She asked us if we wanted anything, but we merely shook our heads from side to side, and she told us to make ourselves at home while she was gone.

There we stood, in a hallway of twelve rooms. There were six on each side. Right after we'd chosen whose rooms would belong to whom and dragged our bags into them, Nanako returned with a glass of iced coffee in hand, her father and Kyouya's father trailing behind her.

All of us bowed slightly again before Nanako's father began to speak.

"Is there anything you wish to do over the course of the next two weeks, Nanako? The planners would like to know so that they can make a schedule of what will be taking place. But please do keep in mind that the day of the wedding and the night before that are not to be altered,"

She grimaced inwardly, at the thought of being married, I assume, but then turned towards her father with a very businesswoman-like stance. "We do have the daytime available on the day before the wedding, correct? I'd like to be free during that time frame."

She then put one arm around me, and the other around Fuyumi and Haruhi. "A day out with these ladies would be great, if you wouldn't mind that, father,"

He pondered for just a little while, and then responded. "That is manageable,"

"Very well," she said.

A girls' day out? Ugh. I really did hate doing girly things. But Nanako didn't seem like one of those giggly fan girls, and Haruhi... well, she pretended to be a guy for the sake of the host club. So I guessed we would be alright. Still, although Nanako was nice and all, I just couldn't put my finger on that sinking feeling in my stomach. Of course I've considered the possibility of jealousy, but it wasn't likely. Even if it was, I didn't think I could do anything about the guy getting married anyways.

Sheesh, even so. What was the matter with me?


	23. Last Day with the Groom

— _Chapter 23 _—

_**Last Day with the Groom**_

* * *

Nanako Shouji was out of her mind to have been making such big last-minute decisions.

She asked me to tell her which wedding gown she should have chosen for herself while we were out shopping with Fuyumi and Haruhi. The girls day out was Nanako's idea, and the alternative would have been sitting and staring out of the window in my guest room all day. To my dismay, I needed to settle for the first option.

It would do me good to get more sun, anways, especially with everyone becoming stressed and anxious about the wedding. We still had no idea how Kyouya was going to stay in contact with the host club if he was going to be married to a woman in Spain at the will of his father.

"What do you think about this one, Hiroshi?" asked Nanako, trying on her fifth wedding dress and looking in the mirror.

I thought just for a little while, and then finally formed a decent opinion. "I don't think that's the one, either. Don't you have a wedding dress at home, anyways?"

"Mother's, yes," she said. "I know that it's been passed down through generations, but still. Maybe it's time for a new one, don't you think? I honestly don't think that my children would want to wear that thing."

The mere thought of Kyouya and her having children made me grimace.

"Your children," I said quietly. "R-Right."

Her eyes widened, and an expression of worry came up onto her face. "I really don't know what my father is thinking."

"It's cool," I shrugged before continuing to observe the dress that she had on.

"Hiroshi, are you alright?" she asked, sighing.

"C'mon, this is all about you and your big day," I lied. What a cheesy thing for me to say.

I wondered why I thought of that as a lie in the first place. If anything, I should have been happy. Kyouya was getting married to a nice, wealthy, beautiful woman.

"If you have feelings for Kyouya, please tell me."

I jumped, and my eyes widened slightly afterwards.

She tilted her head to the side and stared at me in slight confusion. "Did I startle you?"

"Uh-uh," I gulped, pushing my palm to my forehead. "I don't," I quickly replied. It was a reflex; whenever someone asked me, I'd respond this way no matter what I really did feel. I continued. "It's not like it'll matter tomorrow, anyways."

Guilt hung over her face. "I'm sorry for making you feel this way, Hiroshi, but believe me. Just like the majority of arranged marriages today, there's a strong chance that Kyouya and I won't be able to wed for one reason or another."

"How do you know that? You're getting married within twenty-four hours from now, too. There isn't much we can do."

"I'm not sure you realize what the bride in a wedding is capable of; especially in this situation, where my father can be quite the push-over. Haven't I already told you that I've gotten away with not getting married on several occasions? So don't worry, alright, Hiroshi?"

"Alright. Anyways," I exhaled calmly, "Why exactly would you need my opinion?"

"Isn't it obvious? You're the host club's designer, aren't you?"

"That's correct, Ma'am. Although, if you don't wanna marry Kyouya-senpai or anything, why are you stressed out about having a dress for tomorrow?"

"Well, now that I've already told you that I didn't want to marry him, I actually wanted you to help me pick out a dress for when I do find someone I want to marry. I guess I would be wearing the same dress for tomorrow, but..." she shrugged. "It won't matter."

A lady came by, asking about whether or not Nanako would like another dress. "¿Quieres otra, Señorita?"

Nanako nodded. "Sí, por favor. Gracias," she replied fluently in Spanish, saying yes and thanking the woman.

"Hiroshi! Nanako!" we heard Fuyumi exclaim as she rushed into the shop with Haruhi in her arms.

Haruhi was entirely dolled up, complete with loads of makeup and a hairstyle that required extensions for her boyish hairstyle. Her expression gave away the fact that she was exhausted. Fuyumi must have dragged her around the majority of the shopping center despite the fact that it was still so early in the day.

"Doesn't she look adorable?" she giggled.

"Eh," Haruhi muttered tiredly in reply.

"Yes, she does," Nanako laughed nervously.

"Now it's Hiroshi's turn!" she smiled, causing me to stand frozen in place.

If she did that much to Haruhi in a span of two hours, then I was terrified of how much makeup she'd put on me during several more of them.

My words were muffled as she pinched both of my cheeks and walked me out into a completely different shop. After she let go, I was finally able to speak. "What are we doing here in a cosmetics store?" I asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked. "Now close your eyes!"

"Huh?" I asked.

She shut my eyes for me before even considering providing an explanation for my confusion, and then began to dab eyeshadow on my eyelids. She then carefully put eyeliner on me, and then instructed me to open my eyes again.

My eyes widened. The only other time I had this much makeup on was during Fuyumi's wedding.

Fuyumi worked quickly to lightly brush a thin layer of blush onto my cheeks, and then ran me over to a clothing store afterwards. As one could have easily guessed, I barely had any room to speak. Before I knew it, she rushed me into a dressing room and began filling my arms with dresses. After we were both in a single dressing room, she still continued to smile widely and speak to me in an excited tone of voice.

"This one would be so cute on you, Hiroshi! Wait, what about this one? No, wait a second! This one! It really brings out your eyes and—"

"Whoa there," I said, putting all of those dresses down and hastily waving my hands around.

She stopped altogether. "What? What's the matter?"

"What are you getting Haruhi and I all dressed up for?"

"Well, I just wanted to have a little fun before the wedding. You know I love doing these things!"

I exhaled. "Alright."

I figured I might as well let her. She helped me slip into a sundress but didn't seem to notice that it was way too tight. I could barely breathe as she forced the zipper closed. As I wheezed, she continuously talked about how certain dresses would fit me perfectly or attract attention, but stopped after just a little while. She must have finally realized that I wasn't all that enthused.

She then looked at me with a ponderous expression. "Hiroshi, are you okay?"

I nodded quickly to signify a yes, which was the third time I lied about my feelings about the situation today. Too bad it didn't fool Fuyumi this time around.

She let out a sigh as her eyes met the ground. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, I'm alright, what are you apologizing for?" I asked hastily.

"It's just...I wanted you to feel pretty before the wedding happens tomorrow, you know?"

"Fuyumi, I appreciate it, but I honestly don't need it," I replied with a nervous laugh. "Why would I need to feel pretty?"

Fuyumi's deep gray eyes met mine. They matched Kyouya's exactly; I felt almost as if I were looking into his eyes instead. They were filled with concern.

"Hiroshi," she said, taking my hands in hers. "Do you love Kyouya-kun?"

"Huh?!" I exclaimed, now sure that everyone else in the dressing room had known about our business.

She only continued to look at me, determined to get an honest answer. I exhaled, let go of her hands, and pushed one of my own hands to my forehead. "Fuyumi," I roughly whispered, and then sighed. "It's not going to matter either way. He's getting married tomorrow."

"Are you saying that you do?"

"No, no," I huffed.

"You know, I don't want my baby brother to get married, either; not to Nanako."

I shuffled my feet awkwardly. "Oh well, she's gorgeous. Just look at her."

The both of us froze once we heard a knock on the door, and our heads snapped to the side. I could have sworn that my heart dropped to my stomach when a certain deep voice had called our names out. I unlocked the door and pulled it open to reveal a man, who was much taller than I was, with a little boy by his side. These two people were undoubtedly Mori and Hani. Behind them was none other than Kyouya. He pushed his glasses up with his forefinger and his middle finger, his signature grin absent from his face. That grin was instead replaced by a flat line to match his tired expression.

I'd forgotten all about the fact that they'd be going out as well. Tamaki and the twins figured they'd stay in, but I assumed Hani wanted spend more time with Kyouya before tomorrow. As you may have guessed, Mori wanted to tag along.

"I thought I heard familiar voices," Kyouya said.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked.

Hani was the one who replied. "We were just passing through, and Takashi heard you and Fuyumi-chan talking, so we decided to come over!"

"You just happened to be passing through a dress shop?" I asked, staring at all of them with a dumbfounded expression.

Nanako and Haruhi suddenly appeared behind the three of them, but before any of us could speak anymore, the employee in charge of the dressing room marched over and frowned at us slightly.

"Si ustedes quiere perder el tiempo en torno a, por favor ir a otro lugar," she said.

She said that we should have gone somewhere else if we wanted to loiter around.

"Lo siento, Señorita," I replied apologetically.

We walked together, out of the dressing room, past the large number of colorful sundresses and accessories, and out the door. We talked as we strolled along.

"Hiroshi, I haven't found one quite yet," sighed Nanako.

I exhaled tiredly. "Well jeez, at this rate, I might as well just design the dress for you."

She gasped. "You really mean that, Hiroshi?"

Gulping, I nervously looked over at her. "W-well."

"I really would love that," she said.

I puffed up my cheeks as I struggled to make a decision. "Alright, I'll do it," I exhaled. "There isn't much time to put it together, you know."

"Oh, our seamstresses can take care of that!" she smiled charmingly.

For the second time that day, I questioned Nanako's sanity. Less than twenty-four hours to design and make a dress seemed highly unrealistic. I did manage to get costumes (er, dresses) for the other hosts done within an even smaller time frame: that one time when Kyouya needed me to prevent Haruhi from transferring to Lobelia. But this was her wedding she was talking about.

Maybe she just wanted a designer that she knew on a more personal level, even if that person was only a mere friend of Kyouya's.

_A friend..._ I thought with a sinking feeling in my stomach.

I shook my head vigorously, my thoughts drifting back to the fact that I needed to find inspiration.

"Nanako, if you want me to design this for you, I'm gonna be out for the rest of the day," I said, mentally noting dress shops I've seen on our way to the mall. "Starting now."

Before she could even respond, I raced down the stairs, which were much faster than elevators if you ran quickly enough. I ran as quickly as I could, able to hear people murmuring and questioning what exactly I was doing. There wasn't time for explaining, of course, so I simply kept on sprinting for the mall exit.

After while of the strenuous exercise, making my way through a number of turns and streets, and glancing at various shops on my way, I'd finally come to a stop. The dresses in the window of this particular shop looked halfway decent, so I decided to start there.

"This one'll do," I muttered with a hint of hope before dashing through the pair of double doors.

The atmosphere of the place was that of some cheap American convenience store, but all that mattered at the moment was the quality of the dresses. I took a liking to the way they embroidered white beads on each one, and the fancy, large flare at their bottoms certainly caught my eye as well.

"Cómo le puedo ayudar?" the man at the front desk asked, wondering if he could help me.

"Simplemente estoy mirando a su alrededor, pero gracias," I replied, thanking him but also telling him that I was merely looking around.

Several racks of organized dresses stood there, just waiting to be looked at. Tracing my fingers over the embroidery and beading of each dress, I mentally noted small details that I thought would suit someone like Nanako.

I repeated this process with several other stores. My strategy seemed to be working; my idea of Nanako's dress was nearly complete, and I figured that browsing through just one more store would do the trick. This store name in particular was in English: Your Special Day. Reading that name to myself felt pretty ironic. My special day, huh?

Sighing, I walked through the revolving door. I figured I'd get right to business and start looking through the long, white gowns immediately, but something slightly unusual caught my attention.

"Dios mío! Él es muy guapo!" a group of girls giggled excitedly as they gathered around the cashier.

However, it wasn't the cashier that they were squealing about and calling handsome.

Surprisingly, the cashier wasn't awkward at all about it. In fact, he gave the man next to him a huge hug and began to explain that he'd found him wandering around on the street, and that thanks to him and his business tactics, his sales had already improved. I walked over to see who they were talking about.

"Spain's version of Kyouya-senpai?" I half-laughed quietly to myself.

I was close enough. It was Kyouya himself, dressed in a suit, minus his signature grin.

The group of girls asked him why he had such a serious expression on his face, and one of them even stroked his shoulder comfortingly.

"What are you doing here, Senpai?" I asked bluntly.

He looked in my direction immediately, and a tiny smile formed on his face. That grin only lasted for a fraction of a second, though. "I didn't wish to be around anything or anyone related to the wedding taking place tomorrow."

I gave him an awkward look. The irony of what he said nearly made me laugh. "So you went to a shop that's full of wedding gowns?" I asked. "Makes sense."

His blank stare really did make my stomach churn. I wondered if he was going to be this way for the rest of his life once he got married to Nanako, and then answered my own question. It was already obvious.

"I'll be going; I've gotta get to work on designing this thing," I said, shrugging and heading out. Thinking about it more wouldn't have done me any good. Doing so would have induced even more unwanted emotions.

I walked outside and leaned against the wall for a few minutes, puffing my cheeks up and hitting myself on the head. With a grunt, I proceeded with walking in the direction I came from.

Not long after I began to walk away, though, I heard the faint sound of steady footsteps coming from behind me.

"Senpai?" I asked, turning around to find that I'd guessed who it was correctly. He was only standing about a foot away from me.

As the revolving doors of that shop remained spinning, Kyouya stared directly at me. I waited for him to answer, but only silence followed.

"You should look on the bright side, you know," I told him. "You're getting married to one of the most pretty women in Spain."

"Do you think that's one of my main concerns at the moment, Hiroshi?" he asked.

"It'll have to be," I replied, raising an eyebrow at him.

He sighed. "I suppose."

A short silence followed before he decided to speak again.

"Let's get out of here," he said.

I shot him a confused expression. "And go where?"

He took me by surprise by taking my hand in his. "You said it yourself, didn't you? A place full of wedding dresses isn't clearly isn't going to cut it if we want to get our minds off of the wedding. There are quite a few other places we can go to in the vicinity... we just have to try not to get caught."

I stared at our hands, and then at the corner of his mouth, which was tugged up just slightly. I felt a small tinge of relief about the fact that the old Kyouya seemed to be back, even if it was only for a short while, and I let out a sigh.

"Alright," I replied.

* * *

_**Third Person**_

The others were worrying about what had happened to Hiroshi and Kyouya.

"Where's Kyouya-senpai?" Hikaru and Kaoru wondered simultaneously.

After turning his head to see if his friend was in the general vicinity, Tamaki laughed. "I'm sure the guy just needed a break."

"You don't think he's out with Hiro-chan, do you?" Hani asked, still managing to hold on to Usa-chan after walking around the mall for so long. He was probably going to ask for Mori to carry him on his back soon.

The twins giggled mischievously at that, and Tamaki merely smiled.

* * *

We stood on opposite sides of a rack full of CD's and records both old and new, and even in foreign languages. We aimed to walk into any small, quiet shop we could find, and this music store seemed to be fairly secluded; it was practically empty apart from the two of us and the shop owner. The place wasn't exactly what one would call modern, but it wasn't old and dusty, either.

"Hey Hiroshi," Kyouya began, audible through the rack.

"Hm?"

"What kind of music do you listen to?" he asked. Chuckling, he found a space through the cases that allowed him to look at me. "Other than Trapnest."

I almost forgot that he'd seen my poster of that band on my wall, and I let out a nervous laugh. "Would you kill me if I told you that I sometimes like pop? I'm picky about it, though; I prefer the slower and more gentle-voiced artists."

"Is that so? Hikaru and Kaoru listen to a lot of J-rock, according to my knowledge. It doesn't surprise me much."

I shrugged. "It depends. Classical music helps me to concentrate with my studies, too."

After a long pause, he asked yet another question in reply. "Have you heard of the song Koibumi?"

I racked my brain for such a song title, but nothing seemed come up. "That means love letter, right? It might ring a bell if you tell me who sings it."

"Yanagi Nagi," he replied. "It's more of a ballad. Maybe you should give it a listen; for some reason, there's something about the song that drew me to it when it first came out."

I went over to the other side to find Kyouya standing there with a pair of headphones in his hands. "I didn't know that they'd sell Japanese music here," I muttered.

He nodded. "Apparently they do."

"Alright, then," I said, jogging over next to him.

He tried to put the headphones on for me, but I laughed, grabbed them from him, and put them on myself. The small box in front of us displayed a grid of pictures of album covers, and Kyouya pressed on the square with a black and white photograph of a teenage girl standing by an empty train station.

"I believe Tamaki knows how to play the piano rendition of this song," Kyouya added in before the music began the play.

It had a twenty-second introduction. A beautiful melody was played by the graceful strokes of a piano's keys, and then a quiet melody was being hummed in harmony. The woman sang softly and fluently in Japanese, putting every ounce of emotion she had into her voice.

_Walking while holding each other's hands..._

_We couldn't even do such a simple thing._

_We can't go back to those times, and it would be over. Just like that._

The lyrics and the melody had already captivated me. I was completely lost in the singer's angelic voice as well as the sweet sound of the piano and the orchestra. "I'm guessing this is supposed to be a tear-jerker," I said, still listening.

I turned my head to the side to see if I could read his lips if he'd responded, but he wasn't in my direct line of sight. Oblivious to the fact that he was right behind me, I'd turned my body around completely.

My gaze met his chest for just a split second before I peered up at his face in confusion. "Ah, sorry," I laughed nervously, pivoting my foot so that I could turn back around.

Kyouya stopped me from doing so, however.

He placed a hand on my shoulder, and after a few long seconds, he placed his other hand on the opposite one, reducing the distance between our faces to less than a foot.

I gulped as my eyes began to widen. "Senpai?" I asked quietly as my face began to flush. "Why are you..."

Shifting my gaze upwards once more, I placed my fists on his chest in an attempt to create more distance, but he quickly held on to both of my wrists. I raised an eyebrow at him and shook my fists once more, but he only continued to hold on in the midst of resting his forehead onto my own.

_Even long after you forgot, even if you left everything behind._

_Because I will always love you, I won't forget._

_For now, it is just a farewell._

The raven-haired boy persisted in gazing at me as though he could hear the lyrics as well. I wouldn't be surprised if he did; the music coming from my headphones was voluminous enough.

I thought back to what Fuyumi had asked me earlier in the day. I cared deeply for him only as a friend, but if this was the case, then why did the thought of him marrying Nanako stir up such great unease within me?

Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he pulled on my hand to made me sit beside him on the ground. I gave him an odd look and took my headphones off, opening my mouth to say something before he placed his hand over it.

He was looking through a gap in the rack in front of us. I immediately shoved his arm away, getting up and silently crab-walking to see why Kyouya was acting so strangely. I could make out the twins, Hani, Mori, Tamaki, and Nanako standing right outside the glass wall. Haruhi and Fuyumi were probably still at the shopping center.

"What are we hiding for?" I whispered to Kyouya, who was now hunched over next to me.

"Nanako's with them. You know she'll bring the two of us home as soon as she sees us."

"So your goal is to stay away for as long as possible?"

He sighed and put a hand to his face. "I'm being such a child about this. But yes, that would be ideal."

I stood in silence for a few seconds, sat back down, and took my sketchbook out of my bag. "Well, I guess I'll get going on designing this thing, then. But I've gotta go back eventually; the Shouji family's seamstresses need to put the dress together in time for the wedding."

Kyouya was still watching through the gap nervously for about five more minutes, and then exhaled in relief. They wandered elsewhere. "I see," he replied, eyeing my soft, quick pencil strokes moving along the paper.

We stopped by a few other places. I drew and sketched in each place we stopped by: a book store, a jewelry store, a bakery, a cosmetics store, and heck, even a barber shop. Walking around the area and through various shops seemed to lighten Kyouya's mood, and he was able to chuckle at my dorky and outdated jokes.

It took a while, but I completed my design in a reasonable amount of time. It wasn't long before Nanako called me to see how things were going.

"Yep, all finished," I said.

"Great! Are you alright with walking, or do you want us to pick you up from wherever you are?"

"Your house isn't that far from here, so I'm alright with walking."

"You're sure?"

"Yep."

"Alright, sounds good. Oh, by the way, Hiroshi-chan, do you happen to know where Kyouya-kun is?"

I looked over at him nervously, but I was still able to speak casually. "Nope, I thought he was with you guys."

"Ah, okay. Well, I'll see you in about half an hour then."

After the two of us said goodbye to each other and hung up, I turned to Kyouya again, who was reading a gossip magazine with a disconnected look on his face. He was back to being unhappy about the situation. I didn't find it necessary to tell him that Nanako was looking for him; he was smart enough to figure it out.

"I've gotta go now, Senpai," I said, standing up and pulling my bag over my shoulder.

Kyouya remained seated, indifferently reading his magazine. I would have smacked the back of his head any other time, but he had his reasons this time. I ruffled his hair up, and stuck my tongue out at him when he finally looked up at me. "Try not to be too depressed, got it?" I laughed.

He grabbed a hold of my wrist once I began to walk away, and so I turned to face him again. He stood up, still not letting go.

"What's with the wrist grabbing today?" I asked, pulling my arm away.

"Thanks for today, Hiroshi," he said, not bothering to answer my question.

"Anytime," I said. "That's what friends are for."

He nodded. "So I'll see you later?"

"Yeah," I agreed, nodding back and walking in the opposite direction after we waved at each other.

I could practically feel him staring at me as I walked out, and I resisted every urge to look back at him. The warm breeze hit my face as soon as I opened the door. Everything and everyone, it seemed, were somehow beautified by the vibrant colors of the sunset. I waited for some form of inspiration to hit me due to this, but it didn't come; for the rest of the day, I didn't feel inspired to do anything.

Hikaru and Kaoru were waving cheerily at me through the window on the second floor of the Shouji Manor, and I waved back at them before heading inside. The hosts, Fuyumi, and Nanako looked pleasantly surprised to see me, and Nanako excitedly asked me a few questions about how I'd managed to design a wedding dress within the span of a few hours. I told her that I wasn't sure; it just came to me. I then flipped to the page in my sketchbook with the planning for the gown on it.

She looked as though she was close to fainting while telling me that what I'd come up with was absolutely perfect. "I told you she could do it, Papa," she smiled at her father, who was also closely examining my sketch. The only thing that concerned me was the fact that the family's seamstresses would have to stay up all night to get the dress finished.

All of us were getting ready to sit down at the dinner table when Kyouya finally walked through the door. Fuyumi ruffled his hair up, and Nanako and the hosts jokingly questioned his whereabouts. I played along and asked about where he was as well. All laughter ceased, however, once Kyouya's father had walked in. The remainder of the light mood was gone for the night; tension managed to build up gradually throughout the entire time we were going through our courses.

Although each of us still held Kyouya's promise in mind, we knew he was only saying so to comfort us. What was he going to do, fly back and forth from Japan to Spain every day? Even if he wanted to do so, such an option would be out of the question for his father. He would forbid him from spending so much time and money on something that, according to Mr. Ootori, was a waste.

No one could really speak about the issue for the rest of the night due to Mr. Ootori being present the entire time. Usually, he'd go to sleep early, but decided not to do so tonight. We headed straight to our rooms, leaving the overall uncomfortable and antsy mood unchanged.

It was midnight already, and I hadn't fallen asleep yet. I stared at the Totoro charm that was dangling from my cell phone: the one that Kyouya had gotten me for Christmas. I smacked my hand onto my face, telling myself that staying up was only going to make me look half dead the next day.

Someone knocked softly on my door, and I jumped. Who would be knocking on my door this late at night?

"It's us," I heard two voices whisper simultaneously.

I jogged over and opened my door as silently as I possibly could. "What are you guys doing here?" I asked Hikaru and Kaoru quietly, raising an eyebrow at the two of them.

"Couldn't sleep," Hikaru replied.

"And so you come to my room as a solution? Sorry, guys, but I'm not that good with singing lullabies, if that's what you were thinking."

The both of them sighed, pushing past me, closing the door behind them, and sitting down on my bed. "We just need to ask you a question, and then we'll get out."

"Alright, what might that be?" I queried, hoping that it wouldn't have to do with my feelings for Kyouya.

"About Kyouya-senpai," Hikaru began.

I grunted. "Why has everyone been asking me about him? Is it really gonna matter in the span of a few hours?"

"Someone's a bit touchy," Kaoru laughed in reply.

"Well," I exhaled, "I don't think that whatever feelings you think I have for Kyouya have anything to do with the situation. Whether or not they exist, he's going to be married tomorrow."

Another soft knock had made each of our heads turn.

"Who is it now?" I huffed, dragging my feet over to my door once again.

"Well, we'll get back to our own beds, then. 'Night, Pocky," they yawned simultaneously.

I didn't bother with scolding them for calling me by that nickname. I merely told them to get a lot of rest so that they wouldn't pass out during the ceremony, and we waved at each other before Kaoru opened the door in such a way that it wouldn't creak. "Hey, Senpai," they said casually before walking back to their own rooms. There was a hint of a chuckle in their voices, and so I knew without a doubt that this person was Kyouya.

He walked in and silently shut the door behind him. I first wondered if he was able to see clearly enough; he didn't have his glasses on in that point in time.

I eyed him suspiciously. "Uh, you should really get back to sleep. You're the groom, for crying out loud; do you want to look like a zombie tomorrow at your own wedding?" I whispered.

He shrugged. "I'm having a bit of difficulty sleeping," he said.

"Well, I can't sleep, either," I replied, taking a seat on my bed and shuffling my feet. "Why do you and the twins insist on paying me a midnight visit as a solution? I already told Hikaru and Kaoru that I'm not the best at singing lullabies."

The spot I was sitting on rose up just a little; Kyouya had taken a seat right beside me. "I apologize; I'll leave you be in a moment. I only have a question for you."

I was on the verge of sighing heavily and telling him that I didn't have feelings for him, but if I did that, I'd be putting myself in a lose-lose situation. My face would begin to flush either way and I'd be even more embarrassed if his question didn't turn out to be what I thought it would.

"It concerns the wedding."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I figured as much. What's the matter?"

A few long seconds of silence ensued and he hunched over a bit to rest his chin on his joined fists. "I know that there's been a general negativity towards the subject, but I'm not sure I've ever asked you about your personal take on it."

I closed my eyes and let out another sigh as I brought my kees up to my own chin. "It's obvious that I think the host club won't be the same without you; why are you asking?" I half-laughed, gulping down the bit of pressure in my throat.

"Well, it certainly wouldn't be the same if any single individual left, would it?" he replied. "I was referring to something else, however."

"Such as?" I asked.

He didn't say anything else for a little while as he waited for me to catch on, and I realized that he was alluding to the dreaded question of the day. "Senpai," I sighed irritably, standing up and pressing my hand to my forehead and shutting my eyes tightly.

The bed creaked just slightly once Kyouya got up, and slowly, he walked over so that he was directly in front of me.

"It has nothing to do with, ah, feelings. It's not like it would matter at this point," I replied, looking up quickly to find that our faces were much closer than the norm.

He stared intently at me for a few more long seconds before pulling me into an embrace, and he rested his forehead on my shoulder. "I'll do what I can stay in touch with the host club."

The warmth of his forehead gave me a sense of comfort, but at the same time, his words brought a great amount of sadness to me. I wasn't sure whether or not they held truth to them.

Closing my eyes as my heart beat began to speed up, I slowly brought my cheek to the side of his head. "I'm not so sure your father would allow such a thing to happen."

Yet another bit of silence followed as Kyouya pulled away just enough to give me another look, but just as I was about to pull away, he slowly and gently rested his forehead on mine and his eyes became half-lidded.

"Hiroshi," he murmured.

"W-what are you doing?" I stammered quietly.

This clearly wasn't something normal for mere friends to do; what on earth was I thinking by allowing him to take such an action?

Tilting his head to the side just slightly, he placed one hand on my cheek and kept the other on my waist. The warmth of them had contrasted that of the cool indoor temperature greatly. His lips began to inch closer and closer to mine in a way that felt like an eternity had passed by. My heart beat quickened as soon as his breath began to beat my own lips, and, instinctively, I went back to resting my my forehead against his own to create a gap again.

"Senpai, I..." I whispered, certain that my breathing was embarrassingly audible.

He chuckled, leaning in once more with a smug expression on his face. My eyes widened again once my face had heated up even more.

But after a few seconds of seeing that I kept my gaze on the ground, he pulled back. His signature grin was gone for the night, and my heart suddenly dropped; that was probably the last I'd ever see of it.

"Goodnight, Hiroshi," he said, ruffling my hair up and walking towards my door. "Get your rest."

"You're the one talking," I replied, realizing that my tone of voice more quiet and less sarcastic than I thought it would come out.

After nodding slightly, he walked out and quietly closed the door behind him.

I stood with a dumbfounded expression on my face, and each detail of the past few moments were being replayed over and over in my head. Finally plopping down onto my bed once again, I raised my hand and rested it on my chest to find that my heart beat was getting back to normal.

I crawled back into my cozy comforter, catching another glimpse of the Totoro charm dangling from my phone. Sighing heavily and shutting my eyes, I knew that it wasn't going to be easy to fall asleep. Now wasn't the time to be questioning my feelings, yet here I was, doing exactly this... but Kyouya was right; I needed rest, just as everyone else did. All of us would be in for it tomorrow.


	24. Objection

— _Chapter 24 _—

_**Objection**_

* * *

Kyouya wasn't lying when he said that wealthy people don't take a liking to wasting valuable amounts of money. The Shouji family decided that things would work out in their favor if Tamaki decided to be the pianist at the reception, so he agreed to it and began to practice immediately since he only had a few days before the wedding took place at that point.

Final preparations were being made, and I assumed that the dress I designed for Nanako had already been finished. Well, I hoped so, at least. At the time, I regretted not thinking ahead and making preparations earlier, but as long as the dress was finished, that was all I was concerned about.

It was now seven o'clock in the morning. Everyone was already downstairs, getting ready for the big day. I needed to drag myself out of bed and head over to the dressing room Nanako had assigned to me as well. The Shouji Manor was so huge that I had some trouble with finding my way, but luckily, one of the maids rushing by was kind enough to point me in the direction I needed to go. After bowing slightly and thanking her, I rushed over to the door. Before I could pull it open, though, the stylist assigned to me had done it before I could and pulled me in swiftly.

"Cómo está usted, Señorita Katou?" she asked in a very calm and polite manner.

I told her I was doing well, and she smiled in return just before getting me settled. Although the Ootori family's stylists were very friendly themselves, the ones from Nanako's family came off as less blunt and more delicate. She gently brushed just the right amount of makeup over my face.

Fortunately, the amount of eyeliner she applied wasn't too heavy, either. Everything concerning cosmetics didn't take much time, and neither did the styling done to my hair. By the time she was finished, I was allowed to take a look in the mirror. I was relieved that I didn't look too different from myself this time around.

Nanako must have been one to like softer colors. A few days ago, when asking her for her preferences so I could design the bridesmaid dresses accordingly, she gave me the details about how every bride in her family preferred bright shades of red for nearly everything that had to do with their wedding day. She claimed that she didn't mind being a break in the chain, and that her family needed one, anyways. "If I'm going to be forced into walking down the aisle, then I should be allowed to do it my way, right? Hm, I think so, anyways," she told me. This explained why the dresses were a very light and nearly unrecognizable shade of pink, which matched the color of the subtle floral accessory the stylist had placed in my hair. Technically, this could be considered another shade of red.

The door to the room was left just slightly ajar when the stylist made her way out, and the commotion throughout the manor had slowed down a bit. The only reason for this was probably the fact that everyone was making last minute adjustments to the decorations. Unlike Fuyumi's wedding, Nanako didn't have any time to come and visit any of the bridesmaids, so there wasn't a trace of her at that point in time. Only Kyouya and the hosts were out in the living room. Although they had only a few more minutes to get themselves prepared, they seemed to be spending it on a more serious conversation. I peeked out of the small gap between the door and the edge of the wall to find a seemingly monotone Kyouya and several of the others looking at him with what appeared to be expressions of both concern and slight anger.

Kaoru exhaled. "So what are you planning on, Senpai?"

"Yeah," Hikaru agreed. "We've gotta find a replacement for the club's manager, and we just..."

His twin finished Hikaru's sentence off for him with a hesitant expression on his face. "We'd just like to know if you had anyone in mind that you'd like to do the job for you when you're away."

I gulped. So they were already planning for Senpai's departure. This was it; they'd decided that he was no longer going to be a host; that there was no possible way that he'd be able to do so, anyways. Believe it or not, ever since we stepped onto the Ootori family's private jet to fly from our homes in Japan to Spain, I've been doing my best to brace myself for this moment. It was now clear that my past efforts didn't seem to work very well. Of course I knew that this was inevitable, but with the hosts missing their optimistic approaches completely, it seemed as though the situation worsened.

Kyouya looked up just slightly. "Well, what about Haruhi? She's an honor student, after all."

"Hiroshi's an honor student, too, you know," Haruhi reminded him, as though he hadn't known that from the second I walked into the doors of the club room.

"Of course I know," he replied. "It's just that Hiroshi already has too much on her plate. The last thing I need is for her to be stressed out."

I wondered why he'd be concerned about my stress level, and then wondered if he believed that his parting with the club may have had a greater effect on me than the others. Well, by the way he was acting last night, you'd think that he thought he had a certain connection with me.

I shook the thought out of my head frustratedly.

"Mr. Ootori, it's time," a tall and very tan man told them.

Kyouya began to step towards the door, but Tamaki was quick to grab his shoulder. "Kyouya, how do you think Hiroshi's going to take this?"

I didn't quite feel comfortable with all of the sympathy they were giving me. I stepped out of my assigned room and walked over to them, and of course, they were shocked a little at the fact that I was listening in. Looking Kyouya squarely in the eye, I exhaled. "I'll do it."

"Hiroshi."

"Just go already, Senpai," I replied impatiently. "If the others need someone to manage the club, then I wouldn't mind taking on the job. Why would you worry about me being stressed out, anyways? Don't you know that I'll eventually be able to get used to the workload?"

"Why wouldn't I be concerned?"

"I can handle it," I said sternly.

This must have been some form of a defense mechanism. I felt the need to show Kyouya that the host club would get along just fine without him. Of course, this wasn't truly the case. Like Kyouya's need to keep me stress-free on some level with his going away, though, maybe I felt something similar towards him. I really wouldn't feel right leaving Kyouya in Spain with a ton of guilt still inside of him.

Usually, if I'd become angry with him in the past, he'd either be unbothered or just a little irritable. This time, though, I saw a hint of sadness in his eyes beyond that monotone façade he was trying to hide his feelings behind. It killed me. "S-Senpai," I stammered. "You just shouldn't worry about it."

He didn't meet my gaze, as I was trying to do with him. "Alright," he replied blankly. "I won't."

And with that, an escort had already walked him out of the room. So this was how our goodbye turned out to be. Hani and Mori were first to look in my direction, and the gazes of the other hosts had followed. Focusing only on the double doors that were right in front of me, I clenched my fists and did my best to maintain a carefree expression as I walked out. They must have figured that nothing they said could make the situation better at that point in time, and so they never tried to fit in even just a handful of words before I was already out of earshot.

Envying Nanako was practically inevitable for me at that time. Seeing her walk with such grace down the aisle with her big white dress flowing behind her had shocked me; she was beautiful, and undoubtedly the perfect bride for Kyouya. Well, I was the one who designed the dress for her, so maybe that lessened my envy just slightly.

Akito, the younger one of Kyouya's two older brothers, was my escort.

"You look beautiful."

It felt as though my heart stopped beating when I heard those words. I realized that they came from Kyouya's mouth, but that I was also only having a mere flashback of what our circumstances were like during Fuyumi's wedding. He himself was my escort that time. I remembered that crooked smile of his that he put on his face just before we had to walk down the aisle arm-in-arm. As usual, I didn't say thank you to him for giving me such a compliment.

"Are you alright?" Akito asked quietly.

I realized that I was staring at him for about ten long seconds straight while being in my train of thought, and I apologized and bowed just slightly before it was our turn to begin walking. Fortunately, I was able to get to my spot next to the other bridesmaids without tripping on my feet so much that it would have been noticeable.

Fiddling a little with my small bouquet was the only thing I could do to keep my mind from wandering and feeling too gloomy. Unfortunately, this method of distraction still didn't work for the most part. It felt as though hours had passed when, in reality, only thirty minutes had ticked by. The minister was eying the two rings on a small cushion being held by a little boy, but he didn't quite get to that part until ten minutes later. Even I couldn't help staring at them because of their intense and unique beauty, but I didn't get to observe them for much longer. As soon as a certain phrase was recited by the minister, I froze completely.

"Speak now, or forever hold your peace," he said.

My heart stopped, and I gulped. I could tell that I'd just made an audible noise by the way the bridesmaid to my right stared at me. I wanted to say something so badly that it hurt to force my hand down. It was too late, though. My arm had already shot up in the air.

"I object," I said, clenching my fists and squeezing my eyes shut to the point where I was sure to have smudged my eyeliner a bit.

This was definitely it. By the way the crowd began to murmur, I knew I was dead for sure. No more coming into contact with the guy who made it possible for me to be in the host club anymore. His father definitely wouldn't allow it.

My heart pounded, and I could feel my own pulse beating rhythmically through my head. Believing that I'd have to face my embarrassment sooner or later, I decided to open my eyes slowly. I expected to find the entire crowd pointing at me and whispering, and that's exactly what I found when I did open my eyes. Well, it was fairly close, anyways. The crowd wasn't only pointing to me.

I turned my head just slightly to see that the rest of the hosts, Nanako, and Kyouya all had their arms raised, too. "We object as well," Hikaru said sternly.

Nanako turned to face her father, who was in the very front of the crowd that was seated neatly in horizontally aligned pews. "Father, I'm sorry," she sighed apologetically. "It's just that you have to understand that I'm now a grown woman and that I can take care of myself. I'd like to be able to make my own decisions."

"Nanako!" he exclaimed furiously in reply. This was the first time I've seen him convey such a great deal of emotion. His wife's expression matched his.

"Father," she repeated calmly. "Can't you see that this boy isn't the one I want to marry?"

Many people were either muttering or gasping. The crowd was being so loud at this point that the minister needed to wave his arms in the air to calm everyone down. If the bride and the groom themselves had objected to the wedding, then what else could be done about it? I guess that no one could really force a couple to get married these days.

Kyouya stepped in to speak with his own dad, Yoshio. He managed to maintain a confident tone of voice although I'd expected him to be quite nervous about objecting to an arranged marriage. "With all due respect, Father, I'm too young to be married."

Mr. Ootori only stared at his son with a great amount of disapproval as Nanako's father tried to talk his daughter out of getting out of yet another arranged marriage. "I am only a high school student," Kyouya sighed, still trying to keep a respectful tone. He bowed. "Please, Father. Allow me to at least graduate university and become settled first before I even consider becoming wed."

"I'm not ready myself," Nanako said, then turning towards her mother. Although she too tried to maintain a respectful tone, her stance was more casual. "Really. I just don't see the point in marrying someone of Kyouya's age. I'll find a husband, Papa. It's just not the right time at the moment."

The crowd was still abuzz with anticipation and anxiety.

I believed that the reason for Mr. Ootori wanting his son to marry so quickly was so that the Ootori Group would be able to improve their stock investments and their dealings with other large companies, but it may have been something more than that. It was clear that Kyouya's father saw the host club as a nuisance and a disgrace to his family name, yet Kyouya still continued to participate in our activities and spend time with us. I never really thought of it that way, but now that I saw it, he must have cared about the club a lot to be putting up with his father like this.

The hosts didn't feel the need to say anything; Mr. Ootori already knew their (and my) reasoning for objecting to this marriage. So we put our hands down and bowed in his direction.

All of us stood there in silence for a good three minutes before Nanako's father decided to speak up. "Ootori-san," he began, looking over at him.

Mr. Ootori took a deep breath, fixed the position of his glasses on the bridge of his nose, and then stood up. "We'll be leaving now," he said with an immense amount of coldness in his voice.

"Very well," Mr. Shouji replied. He stood up beside him and turned towards everyone else in the room. "This wedding has been called off."

The crowd began to speak loudly again, and once Nanako's and Kyouya's fathers were out of sight and out of earshot, the hosts, Nanako, and I breathed out deeply in relief.

Transitioning from the church-style wedding to the reception ballroom felt so quick that I barely got the time to let the previous events sink in. Many of the wedding planners decided that an after party should have been held after the ceremony anyways, and that it would have been foolish to let all of their work go to waste. So, they decided to carry on with the plans to hold the reception, except without the traditional newly-married-couple plans or activities. The two of them were free to sit where they wanted and didn't have to dance together too much.

Tamaki was quite eager to set his hands on the beautiful white grand piano waiting for him in the corner of the enormous ballroom. His playing seemed to fill the entire area, and many couples began to pair up on the dance floor. Everyone acted as though everything had worked out normally during the reception. Maybe all of them were just a bit tipsy from the wide variety of Spanish wine being offered to them. Even Nanako's parents showed up. Kyouya's father claimed that he had other business to attend to, so one could consider him the only one who wasn't present. To be completely honest, I was relieved that Mr. Ootori wasn't here to look down upon the hosts like he has throughout our entire stay.

On the side of the dance floor, there were many elaborately decorated tables labeled with numbers, but people wound up sitting where they wanted to anyways unless they were a secluded group of people. Hani, Mori, the twins, Haruhi, and Kyouya sat with me in a group at table seven, and of course, without the presence of Mr. Ootori, we felt more free to speak about what we wanted to.

Hani jumped up onto Mori's lap. "How are you feeling, Kyou-chan?" he smiled in relief.

"Relieved," he replied shortly with a slight tug of the corner of his mouth. Then he pushed his glasses up slightly and looked up at all of us. His smile was gone. "You know very well that my father is one to have the last word, now don't you?"

Haruhi, Hikaru, and Kaoru shuffled their feet awkwardly.

"Sorry, Senpai," Haruhi said apologetically.

After Hikaru and Kaoru apologized simultaneously and Hani and Mori gave his looks of sympathy and concern, he managed to muster up a grin once again. "Just don't try to pull something like that again."

Each of us agreed, and quietly, Kyouya told us he was still grateful for the support and that it probably helped a bit with his own objection. "I was originally planning to object to my own marriage," he explained.

I guess he wouldn't like it too much if we got into trouble for his actions as well. "But what the seven of you did, did all of you discuss this beforehand?" he asked. He was careful to keep his voice in a hushed tone, as did we. It wasn't like any of these tipsy guests would be listening in, anyways, but we took this precaution just to be safe.

"Well, Tamaki-senpai did suggest it," Hikaru replied, and then looked over to the reception's princely pianist in the distance.

"Oh really?"

"You know, for a while, we were almost sure that our plan wouldn't work out," Hani said, followed by a "hm" of agreement from Mori.

Haruhi nodded. "But we're all glad it did," she added.

"So, anyways," Hikaru began. "Let's eat; I'm starving."

So was I. My stomach growled so much that it was embarrassing and I constantly had to play the noises off when I was stared at. By the time all of us were finished with all three of our courses, we were leaning back in our chairs, yawning and saying things like "I'm never eating again" or "I think my stomach is about to explode."

I figured that maybe getting a drink would help with the digestion, and so I walked over to the large table with beautiful and expensive glasses filled with ice-cold water. Unfortunately, I was only able to get a few sips in before my nose seemed to be stuffed with smoke from the guests standing right next to me. I choked and hacked before stumbling onto what seemed to be a balcony. I'd guessed correctly. Wiping a stray tear away while steadying my breathing, my vision cleared until I was able to make out the glow of the moon in a cloudless and star-filled night sky.

I heard multiple people scolding the smoker, telling him to put the cigarette away immediately. A waiter came out briefly and apologized to me for not catching the smoker earlier since he'd seen my coughing fit, but I told him that it wasn't a big deal. With a smile, he asked if I'd like him to escort me back inside, but I declined politely. Some fresh air couldn't hurt. In fact, the warm breeze would probably help me to relax a little.

Walking over to the edge of the balcony and running my fingers over the thick marble railing, I pulled my dress up just slightly to look at my aching feet. I sighed and kicked my uncomfortable heels off. A few seconds of pain followed, but it vanished right afterwards although the red marks didn't lessen in color quite yet. Tamaki-senpai was still playing piano with as much emotion as he had initially, and the sound seemed to bounce off the walls of the ballroom so much that the tune had traveled outside as well. As he neared the end of the cheerful melody he was playing, I peered out at the beautiful garden that lay before me, complete with marble fountains and a wide assortment of flowers.

Most of the slow songs that Tamaki played so far had been melodies from musicians living in the Classical Era, but the one he decided to play at this moment was a more recent one from only a few years back. One may even be able to call this piece closer to home since it was written by a famous Asian artist. The guests seemed to take a liking to it by the way they began to pair up on the dance floor once again.

I was amused with Nanako's ability to snag a guy within a matter of seconds; she'd danced with someone different for each slow song that was played. There she was, swaying back and forth with a rather handsome man that looked like he was about her age. The only difference between this man and the other guys was the fact that the two of them appeared to be smitten with each other. He even rested his forehead on hers a few times and looked straight into her eyes the entire time. I thought back to multiple occasions when Nanako had said that Kyouya wasn't the man that she wanted to marry, and wondered if this man instead was who she'd taken an interest in all along.

The soft melody moving along the keys of the piano had, for some reason, made my heart beat a little faster. I thought of the possibility of Kyouya coming out to talk with me, but his day was probably already long enough; he probably just felt like being alone for the time being.

I let out a sigh and turned back around, making my way towards the ledge once again as another gust of the warm breeze had hit me. Slowly, I allowed my eyes to close as the piano playing came to a stop. A bit of disappointment made my heart feel as though it were sinking into my stomach.

After rolling my eyes and shaking the thought, I began to think about what could have been troubling Kyouya at that point in time. As I remembered the look of disapproval that Mr. Ootori shot him after his objection, the predicament that he'd tpld me about during our winter vacation became worse in my eyes.

I furrowed my brow and puffed my cheeks up. It seemed that ownership of the family business was noe much further our of Kyouya's reach. Thanks to today's events, his father had porbably wanted nothing more than to snatch such an opportunity away from his youngest son.

I heard Kyouya's voice from behind,and he spoke in a way that made him sound pleasantly surprised. "So you're out here."

"Sure am," I replied with a slight smile on my face. I turned around, and since now he was only a few feet away from me, I was able to clearly see the pensive but peaceful expression he wore on his face as he stared into the distance. "Hey," I said. "I'm sorry that your dad..."

"Probably doesn't plan on granting me ownership of the Ootori Group at this time?" he asked.

I nodded dismally in reply, but he didn't seem to be bothered by it at the moment. Just as I was about to turn towards the ledge once more, he wrapped his fingers around my wrist.

Another slow melody came from the ballroom, and I'd recognized it immediately. It was the one song I spent much of the previous night listening to; the one that the two of us heard for the first time together in that tiny record shop the day before.

A sudden pang of emotion sent my heart racing once more, and before I could hold myself back, I turned and took Kyouya's hands in mine. "Please don't let your father's opinions bring you down," I blurted out, giving his hands another squeeze. "You're worth more than that."

"Hiroshi," he began as I pulled away, the corner of his mouth beginning to tug up. "I already have something in mind. Don't dwell on the issue."

"But—"

He chuckled quietly before I was able to continue. "I'm alright," he said. "I didn't know you were so concerned about it."

I shuffled my feet awkwardly and pushed his hand away with blood rushing to my cheeks. "Well, I had a hunch that the a position meant a lot to you."

"It certainly does," he replied. "But you shouldn't concern yourself with something like this. Like I said, I have a plan in mind that could very well lead to my father changing his mind."

I scratched at the back of my neck and exhaled. "If you say so, Senpai."

We didn't speak for about ten seconds, but the song continued to play throughout the ballroom, and the two of us slowly turned to face each other.

Kyouya held his hand out to me. "May I?" he asked.

I didn't move for a few long seconds until he let out a sigh. "I didn't walk right up to Tamaki to request this song for no reason; would you care to dance?"

My eyes widened slightly as my face began to flush, and I took his hand gingerly. "So this was your request?"

With a slight nod, he placed his free hand on the side of my waist, and I rested mine on his chest. "If you don't mind my asking, how did all of you coordinate without me noticing?" he asked.

Knowing he was referring to the objection scheme, I shyly shifted my gaze elsewhere. "Actually, I wasn't part of the plan; they never told me anything about it."

Kyouya quickly turned his attention to my face once again. "Are you saying that you objected on your own?"

Afraid he may have thought that I saw him as more than a close friend, I let out a sigh. "I'm pretty sure the host club would be in shambles without you, Senpai. We obviously really need you back in Tokyo."

After a few long seconds passed without conversation, I could see that a coy smile was beginning to form on his lips. It quickly disappeared, however, and I assumed that he was trying to mask his previous expression.

The piano continued to play softly in the background, and Kyouya gently began to rest his forehead to mine.

I could feel my cheeks beginning to burn up once more. "Kyouya-senpai," I muttered in surprise.

In a successful attempt to shift my attention slightly, I stopped the movement of my feet for a moment and turned my gaze downward to avoid Kyouya's. However, my more carefree demeanor had been broken down soon thereafter.

"Is something the matter?" Kyouya asked, tilting his head to the side so that our eyes met once again. Upon seeing that my face was beginning to flush, I'd assumed, he looked down shyly for just a moment as well.

I turned my head forward and up towards him once more. "It's nothing, sorry," I replied quietly, shifting my feet a little so that we we were back in a slowly spinning motion.

Although he'd complied and kept some distance between our faces, it seemed that he couldn't keep up with it. Slowly again, he'd inched his face just a little closer to mine so that our eyes were locked.

"I'm sorry, I..." Kyouya whispered before his voice trailed off.

I was expecting him to finish, but at that point, his eyes had become half-lidded and our noses began to touch.

My heart felt as though it was about to burst as I stood frozen in place. His lips had neared mine to the point where I could feel the warmth of his breath beating at my own.

Just as my eyes had become half-lidded as well, he pulled away just slightly to look at me once more, and I couldn't help but furrow my brow. Exhaling, he gazed at me with an apologetic expression and reached forward to pull me into a tight embrace instead.

He pressed his cheek to the top of my head, and I could just barely hear his heartbeat. Despite my mixed feelings at that point, I exhaled as well and reached up to return the embrace.

I questioned how on earth I could possibly feel this way about someone who was only a friend of mine. Emotions like these weren't so simple after all. As much as I refused to admit it out loud, I felt a strong sense of warmth and security when Kyouya held me in such a way. I shut my eyes tightly in hopes to distract myself from such thoughts.

"Hiroshi," Kyouya murmured into my hair.

"W-what?" I stammered quietly in reply.

The piano playing slowly came to a stop. The crowd began to chatter again. I waited for a response from him, but we'd been interrupted before he could go on.

Hikaru and Kaoru came rushing out as the two of us pulled away from each other, and they wore identical smug expressions on their faces. "Sorry! We didn't mean to interr—"

Smacking both of my hands onto their faces, I began to push them back through the doors. "Let's just go back inside," I muttered irritably.

Originally, we planned to head back home about two days after the wedding and leave Kyouya and his family members behind to discuss business dealings with his new wife. Because of the cancellation of the marriage, though, we planned to leave in the afternoon the next day. At least we could sleep in a bit before stepping onto the jet again.

All of us, now outside the doors to each of our rooms, shared a quick laugh and said a very brief goodnight to one another before plopping down in our beds and dozing off. We'd be back home in less than twenty-four hours.

I slept peacefully that night knowing one thing: the eccentric hosts, who I practically had to view as my second family, definitely wouldn't be departing anytime soon.


	25. Tranquility in Karuizawa

— _Chapter 25 _—

_**Tranquility in Karuizawa**_

* * *

Mom rummaged through my suitcase at least five times, just like she's always done whenever I'd be going on a trip without her. In the past, I've always insisted that I was completely fine; that I've already triple-checked my luggage beforehand. She never really listened to me, of course, so I decided to merely stand by quietly this time around.

My phone began to vibrate in my pocket. "I'll be outside," I said quickly.

Once I was out on the balcony, I flipped my phone open in such a way that the Totoro charm swung and made a clicking noise. I held it to the side of my face. "Haruhi?" I asked, leaning on the railing. "Ready for Karuizawa?"

"Fresh air and peace and quiet? Of course," she sighed happily.

"Right," I smiled, already envisioning the tranquil countryside and the quaint architecture. "Just need to wait for Mom to finish triple-checking my luggage," I laughed.

Haruhi yawned. "Oh right, I already went through that whole process with my dad this morning. He kept trying to sneak a few dresses into my bags. Sheesh, it's not like I'm going to Karuizawa to be fancy."

I shrugged and peeked through the window to see that the clothes in my suitcase weren't smoothed out any longer. "Better to have a hundred thorough checks than forget something important, I guess."

The summer had been rather eventful. From the opportunity of a lifetime for an internship at Yuzuha Hitachiin's design studio to Kyouya's almost-marriage to a university student in Spain, I was looking forward to spending an entire month enjoying the tranquility of the countryside with Haruhi. Without a doubt (and regardless of whether or not it was my preference), the other hosts were practically my second family, but a break from them once in awhile wouldn't do the two of us any harm.

After saying my momentary goodbyes to Haruhi and flipping my phone shut again, I went back inside to zip my suitcase and to check over everything in my other smaller bags again just to reassure both myself and my mother. I tried to pack lightly, seeing as toiletries and extra clothing were things that Misuzu-chi had already prepared for us there at the inn. It wasn't like Haruhi wouldn't be willing to share a towel or some soap if necessary, anyways.

It took my mother quite a while to say goodbye to me. As expected, she smothered me with tight embraces and kisses on my cheeks as if I were still the tiny six-year-old that was anxious to begin my first day in grade school. Haruhi giggled, as she did each time Mom insisted on showing such affection. It was understandable in this case; I guess it hardly seemed fair to her that I'd practically spent the majority of the summer away from home.

"Have fun, and take pictures of the scenery, okay, dear?" she smiled. "Call every day just to check in."

I smiled. "I will, I will."

With a few last kisses on the cheek and a smile and a wave, Haruhi and I were off to the station.

"What do you think we should do in Karuizawa, Hiroshi?"

"We should spend time outside; it's supposed to be sunny all throughout this week."

"Well I hope so," she tried to reply casually. She let out a nervous laugh.

I exhaled and put my arm around her as we continued on our way. "You could stay in my room if there's any sign of a storm, you know."

She nodded her head lightly. "Thanks, Hiroshi."

The four-hour trip to Karuizawa mainly consisted of sleep and occasional snacking. We wanted to be well-rested so that we could spend the afternoon getting settled before our first day of work. The thought of such tranquility was sinking in, and Haruhi and I looked towards each other with sleepy smiles on our faces every once in awhile, knowing that the much-needed relaxation would be ours in less than a few hours.

The bed-and-breakfast inn that we'd be working at wasn't too far from the station one Karuizawa; we were easily able to walk without too much exhaustion. It was nearly impossible to become tired, anyways; the countryside and the scenery were so gorgeous that it was almost uncomfortable to not sit down and sketch on the spot. I settled for capturing a few pictures with my cell phone, as Mom had asked me to.

And at last, we arrived at the warm and welcoming place that would be our home for the next few weeks. Outside stood Misuzu-chi, calling our names out and waving his arms in the air with a huge smile on his face. Misuzu-chi was a very close friend to Haruhi's father who worked at the same transvestite bar years ago. As you may have guessed, Misuzu-chi was also dressed in drag, with a wig, makeup, dress, bonnet, and anything else one could imagine on a motherly old lady.

He wasn't nearly as young as Ranka; the wrinkles on his face were very visible. He still managed to look much like a woman, however. He spoke in a tone of voice that made the customers genuinely question his gender.

"Haruhi! Hiroshi! Oh my, how you've grown; what beautiful young women you are!" he squealed, pinching our cheeks and embracing us. "Haruhi, how has your father been? Still the sassy Ranka I met all those years ago, right? Please do tell me!" he giggled.

Haruhi laughed. "He hasn't changed a bit, Misuzu-chi."

"I figured as much! Why don't the two of you get settled in your rooms? Here, let me show you!" he exclaimed excitedly. After giving his long hair a toss and letting out a feminine sigh, he grabbed a few of our bags for us and walked gracefully in the direction of the staircase. Haruhi and I followed.

Misuzu-chi set our bags down in front of two doorways and placed his hands on his hips proudly. "Well, girls, go ahead and unpack! Come downstairs after the two of you have settled, okay?" he smiled cheekily, lifting his poofy ankle-length dress and swiftly making his way down the staircase again.

"Let's go," I smiled excitedly at Haruhi, who returned the expression.

We opened our doors and stepped into our rooms.

An overwhelming sense of tranquility that seemed too good to be true rushed over me as I'd taken in the scent of fresh, clean linen. The twin-sized bed was definitely larger than I'd imagined it would be. The comforter, sheets, and pillows were arranged so nicely that I briefly imagined spending all my time sleeping in Karuizawa. Sunshine poured through the window. The carpeting beneath my feet was soft; I may have not even needed a pair of slippers to walk around.

Like Haruhi, I was provided with a small bathroom within my room which contained a stand-up shower. We were provided with small desks and chairs as well as small closet spaces. Such coziness was beyond perfection to me, and the fact that we were provided with such an opportunity was difficult to let sink in for a few minutes.

After Haruhi and I chatted animatedly and eagerly about our circumstances, we unpacked all of our belongings and stored our luggage to the side. We washed our faces and freshened up before heading back downstairs.

"I certainly hope the accommodations are to your liking, girls!" Misuzu-chi giggled. "Tomorrow's your first day of work, as you know. You can spend the rest of today getting comfortable, but keep in mind that you'll be waking up early in the morning!" he reminded us with much enthusiasm.

"Hm, could we possibly help with anything right now?" I asked.

"Right, it would do us good to get into the swing of things," Haruhi smiled.

Misuzu-chi beamed. "Two beautiful young ladies who are also diligent and hardworking! Ah, how refreshing," he sighed happily, tossing his long hair once again and placing his forefinger to his pink lips. "I suppose I could use a little bit of help. Are you two up for some dish washing?"

Even the kitchen in the back was almost as neat and well-kept as the bedrooms themselves. Misuzu-chi sure knew how to run the perfect inn. No wonder it was so popular and the guests always seemed to have smiles on their faces.

Haruhi and I were able to finish in a quick and efficient manner. The dishes, sparkly and clean, were neatly stacked in their appropriate storage compartments. Instead of exploring the area like we thought we would, we actually enjoyed keeping the place neat. We worked for the rest of the day until the sun was setting, washing and drying laundry and sweeping until Misuzu-chi insisted that we shower and get lots of rest. "You have done enough work! You'll wear yourselves out if you continue."

And so, after eating dinner, Haruhi and I headed back upstairs with Misuzu-chi eyeing us, as though there were a possibility of us coming back down to do more chores.

The hot water felt great, washing me clean so that I'd feel fresh as soon as I got dressed. I stepped out, dried off, and ruffled my hair with a towel before slipping into my pajamas and putting my slippers on. I felt right at home.

I sat down at the little desk on the side of the room, turned on the lamp, and pulled my cell phone out. I looked at the picture I'd taken of the countryside earlier and clicked a few buttons here and there to insert it in a text message I'd be sending to my mom.

_Look at how beautiful the countryside is. I wish you could have seen it in person, but I took a picture of it. Today, we mostly helped Misuzu-chi with chores so that we could warm up to how things are going to be tomorrow. Haruhi and I love it here already. Everything's great and Misuzu-chi treats us like his own children. Take care of yourself and have sweet dreams. I love you lots, Mom! Goodnight._

I still had about an hour before I needed to sleep, so I figured a little sketching would be a nice, relaxing conclusion to my day. I pulled out my colored pencils and set my drawing pad down on my desk, flipping to a blank page. The foreground, middleground, and background were relatively easy to plan out, given that it was the countryside. I tried to add whatever detail I could to the drawing, like the texture of the clouds in the blue sky and the grass of varying shades in the fields.

As I was finishing up, I could have sworn I hear Haruhi muttering something loudly and irritably on the other side of the wall. I wondered if she was talking to someone on her phone. It could have possibly been Ranka. She's never used such an agitated tone of voice with her own father before, though.

Soon enough, I heard a soft knock on my door. I answered to find Haruhi standing in front of me with her own pajamas and slippers on and an annoyed expression. "Tamaki-senpai's at it again," she yawned.

"What's wrong?"

The two of us lied on our stomachs side by side on my bed. "He's wondering where we've been," she stated blankly. "He wouldn't stop talking for five minutes straight. I just decided to hang up."

I laughed. "That must have given him a heart attack."

My cell phone began to ring loudly again, and Tamaki's face appeared on the front of my little phone screen. It was one that he'd taken himself during one of the club's after school meetings last year. "Anyone who receives my calls should be able to see my face, of course!" he'd exclaimed flamboyantly at that point in time, posing dramatically while holding my phone up in front of him.

I flipped it open. "Tamaki-senpai?"

"Hiroshi?! My second-favorite daughter! How are you doing?! You're not being held in captivity, are you?!" he screamed so loudly that I needed to hold the phone away from my ear.

"What now?"

"Where are you and Haruhi?!" he hyperventilated. "Have you been kidnapped?!"

"Could you calm down?!" I huffed in agitation.

I couldn't even fit a word in before he began to persist in asking one question after another for minutes straight. I decided I'd have to do what Haruhi did and end the one-sided conversation.

I shut my phone again. "What is he so worked up about?"

"I'm just speechless," Haruhi said, yawning again and resting her head on my arm. She struggled to keep her eyes open. "Well, at least we get to spend some quality time together, right?"

I smiled. "We've got a month full of relaxation and tranquility ahead of us. Maybe we'll have some free time to walk around town tomorrow."

"Yeah," she replied.

"You should go ahead and get some sleep," I laughed. "We've still got work to do in the morning."

"True," she smiled. We embraced each other with one arm, and she stood up and stretched. " 'night, Hiroshi."

"Sweet dreams," I replied as she headed back in the direction of her own room.

Tamaki continued to call, but Haruhi and I tried to steer clear of contact from them for an entire week by turning our phones off. Haruhi and I enjoyed the housekeeping and interacting with the friendly customers, but we enjoyed having to go to the outdoor shopping center to get groceries even more. The sunshine and fresh air made things seem like much more of a vacation than a summer job. We watched spent mornings serving breakfast, afternoons cleaning, sunsets watching children laugh and play from the patio, and nights talking about anything and everything until we became too sleepy to even think properly.

Today, like all other days this week, we needed to hang the washed sheets out on a clothesline to dry out in the natural sunlight. The weather was particularly nice today, which, again, made this kind of work more of an enjoyable activity. The sun shone brightly and the sky was cloudless.

An easy breeze made it slightly more tricky to pin the damp sheets on the clotheslines, but it was only manageable up to a certain point. Suddenly, the breeze turned into strong gusts of wind. The sheets had nearly blown away, and tree leaves wildly flew in the air.

Haruhi and I looked at each other with confused expressions on our faces, and then we looked up to see that there was a reason for all of the commotion. A helicopter was hovering over the area, seemingly trying to land gently in a spot in the vicinity of the inn.

"Don't tell me..." Haruhi began. Her voice trailed off as soon as the helicopter was close enough.

I saw the faces of the six people inside, and so my expression matched Haruhi's.

"_Don't you worryyyyyyy!_" a flamboyant voice shouted across the skies. "DESPAIR NOT! DADDY'S COME TO SAVE YOU!"

Well, I guess our little vacation from the hosts was going to be cut short.


	26. An Old Friend

— _Chapter 26 _—

_**An Old Friend**_

* * *

The helicopter landed somewhere in the vicinity of where Haruhi and I were standing, and the strong breeze had gone away in a matter of seconds. Within a few minutes, Tamaki could be seen in the distance, running in our direction along with the other five. It seemed as though he was trying to sprint at the speed of light. We clearly weren't in any danger; I wasn't sure why he was so eager to reach us.

Then again, there was Haruhi to be excited about. He hadn't heard from her in a week, after all.

Haruhi slapped her hand onto her forehead as Tamaki continued to leap towards us. "I was looking forward to another two weeks of relaxation," she sighed.

"At least we got one," I replied dismally.

"_Haruhiiiiiiii!_" Tamaki shouted with a ridiculously huge smile on his face. Tears seemed to be streaming down his cheeks as he swept her up and squeezed her like there was no tomorrow. "Don't you _ever_ do that to me again! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" he wailed.

"Ugh, I can't breathe, Senpai!" she angrily grunted. "What are you talking about?! What did we do?!"

Hani puffed his cheeks up. "Tama-chan was worried that you two were in danger," he hummed casually.

"No, no, no," I sighed.

Tamaki persisted in embracing Haruhi tightly and pinching her cheeks as she yelled at him.

"Pocky-chan!" Hikaru and Kaoru chorused happily, nearly suffocating me in a group hug. I gave the both of them a pat on the back.

"The boss hasn't shut up about the possibility of you being kidnapped, you know," Hikaru sighed.

Kaoru giggled. "He especially wouldn't keep quiet about Haruhi."

The host known as the "cool type" finally caught up with everyone else. He wasn't as pressed to rush, so he strolled instead, his thin black notebook back in his hand. It felt like I hadn't seen him in quite awhile. He seemed like an entirely different person before he nearly married Nanako, but it was refreshing to see that he was back to his old self, with a slightly smug expression on his face instead of the dismally blank one.

"We missed our other commoner!" the twins continued.

"Hey!" I shouted.

Soon enough, Kyouya was only a few feet away from us. Instead of the twins being obnoxiously loud and shoving me in his direction, they gave me a wink and skipped away arm-in-arm.

"How have you been, Hiroshi?" Kyouya asked with that slightly crooked smile on his face. He stared down at my work uniform. Apart from the cloth in my tied-up hair, it consisted of knee-length pants, a white tee, and an apron. Maybe the girly apron caught his eye.

"Why do you always look at me like that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He stood about two feet away from me with a slight grin. "Irritable already, I see."

"Shush."

He took a few seconds to look at me and chuckled lightly. "Cute apron," he said.

I could easily tell from his confident demeanor that he was back in the swing of things. It made my heart race for some reason. Maybe I just wasn't used to seeing him like this; he'd been completely monotone for so long. I could feel my face heating up already because of the lack of significant distance between our faces. Not this again, I thought. "W-well, I've been enjoying the peace here quite a bit. How have you been managing?"

"I've been doing quite well," he replied.

"And things at home?"

"Ah, about that," he said, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "My father didn't give me hell, which was unexpected. I can't complain. We've been going about our own business since then," he explained in a more laid-back tone, as if this was how he and his father usually interacted.

I wished that there was something I could do about it, but it wasn't my place. I didn't want to be intrusive. At least Fuyumi loved and cared for him like an older sister should.

A light breeze began to blow through the warm air again as we stood staring at each other. Some strange feeling rushed over me. I couldn't quite describe it in that moment, but I suppose one could call it some sense of completeness. I sighed and decided to put up with my own confusion, as I always did when it came to situations like these. It wasn't uncommon for Kyouya's actions to induce such odd feelings.

"Will you quit it already, Senpai?!" Haruhi shouted.

Tamaki came rushing over so quickly that we were almost sure he'd trip. "Mommy!" he sobbed. "Haruhi's being so mean to me!"

Misuzu-chi came strolling out gracefully with his ankle-length dress flowing behind him. His hair and makeup were still perfectly done and well-kept, but he wore an annoyed expression on his face. "Girls, what on earth is all of this commotion about? I could have sworn..."

He paused to take a look at the teenagers in front of him, and his expression soon changed into a cheeky, charming smile. He swung around a little and played with his gown flirtatiously. "Oh, why hello there! What's a group of handsome young men like you doing here? Would you like a drink? Have you become acquainted with my housekeepers here?" he giggled, rushing over to me and Haruhi and gathering us in his arms. "Aren't they adorable?"

"Misuzu-chi, these are our classmates," I explained.

"So you mean to tell me that you get to see these fine young lads on a regular basis?! And I thought that the men here were refreshing. I'll need to pay visits to you all in Tokyo more often," he sighed dreamily.

"Hello, Misuzu-chi," Kyouya smiled cheekily.

"Ah, you must be handsome young fellow I spoke to on the phone just a few days ago!"

"How do you two know each other?" Haruhi asked as her eyes began to widen by the second.

"I managed to obtain his number after finding out about where you and Hiroshi would be spending the next few weeks. I wanted to check in every once in awhile to make sure things were going well."

Tamaki pouted. "And you didn't even tell me for an entire week!"

Haruhi turned towards me with her half-lidded eyes beginning to twitch. "So Kyouya-senpai knew about it," she muttered.

"I'm surprised he was able to keep it from Tamaki-senpai for an entire seven days, though," I half-laughed.

"Haruhi, Hiroshi, I'm terribly sorry to interrupt you and your friends, but would you be so kind as to greet our delivery boy at the front door? He's been waiting there for quite a while, carrying our watermelon."

"He's been waiting this entire time?" I asked, rushing inside along with Haruhi.

I felt bad for making someone with such a big load to carry have to stand there for such a long period of time. Before even opening the door completely, Haruhi was already beginning to apologize. "We're sorry for making you wait for this long, sir! Can we offer you a glass of water? Please, have a seat."

Silence followed once Haruhi looked up. He had short and slightly spiky brown hair, and he wore a red shirt and a blue cap. I knew that he looked too familiar for me not to know in the past, but it wasn't until he'd lifted his head slightly and said something that I recognized him.

"Uh, hey... what..." I began quietly and nervously. I knew how informal and uneducated I sounded, but it couldn't quite be helped.

He looked back and forth between me and Haruhi, and his brown eyes widened.

* * *

It seemed as though I'd been in the world of Ouran Academy for so long that I'd nearly forgotten what it felt like to be around, well, normal people. Bumping into a friend from middle school kinda felt like going back in time, especially since he began to talk about what things were like during those years.

Here was Arai Kimura, sitting with Tamaki, Kyouya, Mori, and Hani at one of the small tables in Misuzu-chi's inn, discussing with them what the Haruhi and I used to be like. We haven't changed drastically, but of course, since he used to have a crush on Haruhi, I was sure he'd be wondering about how she was doing. He seemed to be hiding the fact just a little, though.

"I haven't seen you since graduation," Haruhi said.

Arai laughed half heartedly. "Right, you cut all of your hair off!"

"Well, it's easier to manage," she shrugged.

He looked over at the rest of the hosts, minus Hikaru and Kaoru, who were sitting at the breakfast bar. "So," he began, "Are you two in a club with these guys?"

"Uh, a host club," I replied awkwardly.

"Ah, is that so,"

Hikaru let out an exasperated sigh, holding up his empty glass and turning his head towards Haruhi from where he was sitting. He had an excessively irritated expression on his face. "Hey Haruhi!" he called out. "Hiroshi! Shouldn't you two be working?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Ah, give us a rest! Misuzu-chi said we could take a break."

From the other side of the room, there was a faint sound of tearing paper. I turned my head to find that I was correct... Tamaki-senpai was ripping the napkins into little strips, hunched over with such a dismal expression on his face that I could almost see a black cloud floating above his head.

"Senpai," Haruhi called out irritably. "Why are you doing that? You're just making a big pile of trash that I'm gonna have to throw out later!"

He looked over at her ever so slowly with an even more gloomy expression. Haruhi hesitated for quite a bit at such a sight; we hadn't seen Tamaki with such a look on his face before.

"It's a hamster home," he muttered. "I'm making a hamster home."

"Senpai, you don't even have a hamster."

Haruhi and I had introduced everyone else earlier in the day, but once Tamaki's turn came up, he'd likely been expecting Haruhi to introduce him as someone of a higher standing in her life. She didn't quite live up to his expectations, however.

He responded with a grumble. "Don't call me your Senpai; I'm merely an acquaintance of yours, remember?" he pouted.

Arai couldn't help but giggle. "Wow, your Ouran guys are really funny," he said, turning to the both of us. "I thought that they'd be entirely different, since they come from such a prestigious school,"

"Oh, they're different, alright," Haruhi replied with an exhausted tone of voice.

"I was worried for you two," Arai laughed. And then he looked over at Haruhi with the expression that he used to in middle school, with the slight blushing and the little smile. "But I'm glad to see you're doing well."

Hikaru seemed to have noticed this expression as well; the fact that Arai was only looking at Haruhi when he said something like that made him a little suspicious that something was going on. I just wasn't sure why he was so concerned about it. Couldn't he give the guy a break?

"Ah, well, everyone else was worried about you!" he laughed. "Especially Kazumi. She still talks about you guys once a week, at least."

"Gosh," Hikaru smirked, leaning back in his chair and stretching his arms out behind him. "What the heck is with this guy, trying the refreshing innocence approach," he sighed as he narrowed his eyes.

It seemed as though he intended for his haughty smirking and chuckling to be noticeable, and it was getting on my nerves. He really didn't have a reason to be acting like this. Even his own twin was eyeing him peculiarly; something was up with him and him only.

Arai was clearly surprised. His eyes widened quite a bit, but afterwards, he looked down with a pained expression on his face. This wasn't right.

I shot Hikaru a look. "Hey, would you cut it out?" I asked. "We'd appreciate it if you showed some respect."

"I'm just sayin', it's just obvious that he has a thing for Haruhi!" he called out bluntly in a childishly agitated tone. "Gosh, it's so sickening to watch him try to flirt. Sure you don't notice it too, Hiroshi? Or are you just taking sides here?"

The way Hikaru looked at me stung. I'd never seen this side of him before; I wondered what on earth Arai could have possibly done to put him in such a horrible mood.

"What's the matter with you?" Haruhi asked with an angry tone, getting up out of her seat and pounding her fist on the table. "Just knock it off; quit being such a jerk!"

"Hey, hey," Arai nervously smiled, "It's okay, Haruhi, he's right. I did have a thing for you once, but it's okay; you already turned me down, remember?"

"... What... huh?!" she gulped. Her eyes widened.

Tamaki-senpai gasped dramatically. "You must tell us this story! When did this happen, Arai?" he exclaimed, rushing over to Arai and setting his hands on his shoulders sympathetically.

This brought more nervous laughter out of him. "Ah, well, it was about a year ago."

This brought me back to the days of middle school, when he'd come to me for advice about how to get his feelings through to Haruhi. I'd always happen to be in the library studying after the school day was over, and he'd sit next to me whenever he could to ask questions about Haruhi. "You're her best friend, right?" he'd ask. "What should I do?"

I finally got him to confess to her towards the end of the year, constantly reminding him that Haruhi's chances of getting into Ouran were pretty solid. I knew that it broke his heart to hear it, but it was the only thing that would push him to take action. Unfortunately, his confession wasn't quite clear to her, given that she was even more oblivious to romance at that point in time than she is now. She took the words "go out" literally.

He was heartbroken to the point where I had to sit with him for over two hours, awkwardly patting his back as he muttered to himself gloomily and repeatedly pounded his head on the desk. "Ah, there, there," I sighed. "Don't feel too bad... Haruhi just hasn't always been the most perceptive person when it comes to things like these."

He only continued to exhale deeply and smack his palm to his forehead.

"Ah, c'mon, Arai, don't take it personally," I'd have to say nervously time and time again.

And so it's taken this much time for Haruhi to finally see what Arai actually meant to tell her. Her eyes widened even more once she looked at Arai again in realization of what he truly wanted to convey over a year ago. "A-Arai!" she gulped. "I'm so, gah, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, smacking her hand onto her forehead. "Gosh, I... sheesh," she muttered repeatedly.

"Ah, no, don't worry! I'm over it!" Arai smiled. "But I did always admire you," he said in a sweeter tone. "That faraway look in your eyes... and the way you'd look at someone when you talked to them... I always thought you were special, you know."

I'd expected Tamaki to gasp and run into his pile of ripped napkins again, but what he did was quite the opposite. "Kyaaaaaa!" he beamed, rushing over to Arai once more and took him by both of his hands. "You really think that much of my little girl?! Don't you worry; I shall never forget your gallantry!" he nearly shouted, smiling so broadly that it seemed to make Arai a little uncomfortable. "Would you care to do more storytelling?!"

All of us, minus the twins, remained gathered around the small table and talked endlessly about how "commoners", or normal people like us, lived during our middle school years.

"Wow, you went to Kyoto?" Hani asked after taking a few bites of his pastry and giving Usa-chan a squeeze. "You stayed in the country for your field trip? That's pretty unusual; so neat!"

"Ah, well it's actually pretty normal for us," Arai smiled.

"Well I've always been a fan of Kyoto!" Tamaki replied with an expression that hinted a flashback; he'd probably been there a few times before.

Kyouya spoke up. "Oh, I can't tell you how many times I've had to tour the temples with him."

"Hikaru! Kaoru!" Tamaki called out. "Why don't you come and join us? This could be one of our only chances to find out about Haruhi's and Hiroshi's middle school experiences! Come on over."

I feared that Hikaru would reply bitterly, and he most certainly did. "Sorry, but I'm not interested," he yawned as Kaoru continued to stare at him with a slightly concerned expression on his face. "Man, how stupid can you guys be?" he continued.

Kaoru eyed him cautiously. "Hikaru—"

"I don't see how you guys can be so interested in sitting around and talking about the past."

Haruhi got out of her seat with an expression that could kill. I reached out in an attempt to stop her, but this was one of the looks on her face that rarely appeared. I wouldn't be able to do anything about it, and so my hand stayed still as she began to slowly walk in Hikaru's direction.

Kyouya's hand grabbed on to mine and slowly pulled it down. I peered over at him in worry. He wore an expression that calmed me momentarily, but a bit of panic surged once again as I looked over to where Hikaru was sitting.

He only continued to talk, not even paying attention to the fact that Haruhi was looking him dead in the eye. "Besides, doesn't that guy know that Haruhi and Hiroshi don't want anything to do with him? They've got plenty of friends now; they don't need you around. Get it?"

A loud slap resounded in the air, and there was a moment of silence that was dragged on for an eternity. Hikaru sat slouched in his chair with a mark that was barely noticeable on his face. Haruhi still wore a deadly expression on her face. "That isn't for you to decide, Hikaru!" she shouted. "I'm not gonna tolerate you insulting my friends anymore, you got it?!"

"But why..." he muttered. His voice began to shake. "Why... why should anyone else even matter to you?"

He stood up abruptly, pounding his fist on the surface of the table and facing Haruhi. "I thought we were your friends! Are we or aren't we?!" he shouted.

"Hika—" I began quietly.

His eyes began to brim with tears as he looked back and forth between me and Haruhi, and he quickly ran out with Kaoru trailing behind him and calling his name repeatedly.

Another silence followed that seemed even longer than the first. "Their world is still so small," Tamaki muttered. "It's such a shame."

We never really expected Hikaru to react so harshly about something as simple as a reunion Haruhi and I had with one of our friends from middle school. It was embarrassing on our part, but Arai didn't seem to be too phased by it. I just couldn't quite get the image of Hikaru's expression out of my mind; he looked so hurt and so angry. None of us knew what on earth had gotten into him.

All of us apart from the twins now stood outside the entrance of the inn, and Arai was leaning on his bike with the same carefree, pleasant expression he always seemed to be wearing.

"We're so sorry, Arai," Haruhi said sympathetically.

"Ah, it's alright," he smiled, being the forgiving and nice guy that he's always been. "I'm not really sure what I did, exactly, but it sure seemed to set him off, huh?"

Suddenly, the door creaked, and someone walked out. To the others, it appeared to be Hikaru.

"Hey," he said awkwardly, scratching at the back of his neck. "I was out of line. I'm sorry."

"Thanks, don't worry about it," Arai smiled once again. He hopped back onto his bike and looked at the rest of us. "Well, Haruhi, Hiroshi, I'll see you guys soon! Bye, guys!"

"Bye bye!" Hani-senpai beamed as Arai began to walk away. All of us waved.

"So you changed into Hikaru's clothes, didn't you, Kaoru," I asked once Arai was out of earshot. Everyone except for Haruhi made an audible gulp as they looked over at us.

Haruhi chuckled. "Changed your hair part too, I see."

"You got me, you got me," Kaoru sighed. "Hey, I don't think Hikaru's temper is gonna let up anytime soon. He's no fun when he's like this, so Haruhi, would you mind if I asked a favor of you?"

"Sure," she replied.

He grinned. "Well, how would you like to go out with me tomorrow on a date?"

I should have known that there was some sort of plan behind this once I turned around to see a slightly smug expression on Kyouya's face. I figured I'd be able to speak to him about it separately when no one else was around. That afternoon didn't seem like such a bad idea to do so.

He was sitting alone on a swinging bench on the porch, seemingly absorbed in the magazine he was reading until I sat down beside him. "So, what's this date business about?" I asked quietly.

He looked up at me. "You'd really like to know?"

"I kinda think I have the right to," I replied. If my own best friend was being set up on a date, I should have known more about it.

"Well," he began quietly, "Let's just say Kaoru's going to be faking a cold."

"He told you?"

He sighed. "He wanted us to go with him to see what happens. I had plans to enjoy a little leisure time, but I suppose I'm going to have to find a way to sightsee while we're following them around."

I gulped. "This just feels a little too weird."

"It won't really remain a secret any longer, Hiroshi," he replied. "She'll know about this once Hikaru shows up instead of Kaoru."

"As long as this works out," I sighed. "If things start to go wrong..."

"We should be able to be sneaky enough," Kyouya said reassuringly. "Well, so long as we can keep Tamaki calm."

I was hoping that this plan to patch up their friendship would work out. It still felt incredibly unnatural to keep something like this from Haruhi, but if it was for the good of her friendship with the Hikaru, I could do my best to let things slide this time around. I knew that Haruhi was always independent and had a knack for caring for herself, but I was still a little worried. Hopefully everything would go smoothly.


	27. Operation Haruhi and Hikaru's First Date

— _Chapter 27 _—

_**Operation Haruhi and Hikaru's First Date**_

* * *

It felt so odd having to watch Hikaru stare at Haruhi's outfit with a weird look on his face; I was surprised that he didn't seem to think that it was cute. I even felt it necessary to give her a huge hug before she headed out. "Whatever the Hitachiin maids did sure made you look adorable!" I giggled. "Even though I'm not so sure I'd want the same thing done to me."

"Hah, yeah," she laughed nervously. I guess my excitement calmed her a bit, but she still appeared to be a little nervous. "You know, Misuzu said it might rain today."

"You can always come home if you see anything," I said. "You'll be just fine, Haruhi."

It was good that the rest of us were sitting in an enclosed area while watching her and Hikaru interact, or else Tamaki would have started to run towards the two of them. Kaoru had to hold him back.

"What is this?! Why is he acting so indifferently towards her?!" he wailed, waving his arms in the air as Kaoru continued to block him. "_Haruhiiiiii!_" he cried.

"Boss, they'll see us if you get too close to the window!" Kaoru yelled. "Gah, c'mon! Calm down! You'll blow our cover!"

Tamaki turned around and began to shake Kaoru by his shoulders. "How the heck did Haruhi and Hikaru end up on a date anyway?! I don't understand! How are yesterday's events even related to this?!" he sobbed.

Hani giggled. "Ah, y'know, this just might be Haru-chan's first date!"

"_HWAAAAAAA!_" Tamaki yelped loudly. "And look at what she's wearing! It's cute; it's so super cute!"

Haruhi and Hikaru began to walk away, and so we stepped outside to keep watch.

We had to tell Tamaki to get a hold of himself. He wasn't as loud, but he kept muttering "No fair, no fair, no fair" repeatedly until Hani whacked him with Usa-chan as hard as he could.

"Be quiet, Tama-chan," he whispered roughly, pressing a finger to his lips as Tamaki began to rub his own back.

"Ah, Boss," Kaoru exhaled, "It's kinda hard for you to understand, but it would be good for Hikaru to find other people he can feel close to."

It was then that the rest of us turned towards Kaoru. He gazed into the distance. "The only people we've ever been able to depend on were ourselves. We didn't care what anyone else thought about us; that's probably how we ended up being so self-centered."

Tamaki raised an eyebrow at him. "So you're admitting it."

"I guess you could say Hikaru's immature; he lets his emotions take over," Kaoru explained. "See, I'm not even really sure he's aware of it, but I can tell that he cares about Haruhi. He just doesn't know how to react, so his emotions run wild.

"He's selfish and wants all of her attention... he wants to be acknowledged by her, but he doesn't quite know how to make that happen. It's kinda the same with you too, Hiroshi," he said, turning towards me.

"If he wants true friends, friends who aren't only toys, he's gotta learn to respect them," he continued. "That's the only way he can have a meaningful relationship. And I think it's about time Hikaru learned that lesson himself."

All of us stared dumbfoundedly for a few split seconds.

"Kaoru, that was amazing," Tamaki said with wide eyes.

"So in other words," Kyouya began, "This date is a test to see if Hikaru is capable of being thoughtful towards others."

"Just promise me you won't interfere, okay?" Kaoru sighed.

Tamaki scratched at the back of his head. "So then why did you ask us to follow you here?"

Kaoru skipped over and ducked swiftly behind a tree. "Because there's no reason for us to miss out on watching something this interesting."

We agreed to split up into groups of two in order to lay low; Kaoru said that walking around in a big group would definitely blow our cover. He was actually so well-prepared for this that it earned him peculiar looks from all of us; the fact that he even brought walkie-talkies was even weirder. "Ah, Kaoru, you didn't have to..." I began.

"They were only a few dollars each, don't worry; they're the kind that short out in a day or so," he explained. "Anyways," he continued, tossing one to each of us. "Hani-senpai to Mori-senpai. I'll go with Boss."

He suddenly turned to wink at me and tossed a walkie-talkie over. "Sushi to pocky," he chuckled lightly.

I rolled my eyes before thanking him for the device, and we were on our way.

Haruhi and Hikaru were heading in the direction of a small outdoor convenience shop, and Kyouya and I were instructed to follow closely behind him. We conversed back and forth with Kaoru through our small handheld devices until we were close enough.

"Hikaru doesn't quite seem to be cooperating so far, does he?" Kyouya asked quietly.

I sighed. "She'll get him to open up somehow. Just give it a little time."

"Hm, you know, I really hope that there aren't any thunderstorms today," I heard Haruhi mutter.

It was as sunny as ever, but naturally, Haruhi grew worried because of Misuzu-chi's prediction.

Hikaru gave her an odd look. "Well gee, I never knew you were so into the weather."

I could see Tamaki on the other side of the store with an angry expression and Kaoru's hand placed on his mouth firmly.

I grunted. "Okay, what..." I began, leaning over to peek out of the rack full of sun hats. "C'mon, now, he's the one who messed up yesterday."

I'd realized that I leaned over too far, and I'd tripped over my own feet. "Gah!" I exclaimed, nearly hitting the ground before Kyouya grabbed a hold of my arm.

He immediately pulled me back. "You've gotta be more careful," he whispered.

"Did you hear something, Haruhi?" Hikaru asked, looking over in our direction.

"Not really," Haruhi shrugged in reply.

We thought we were in the clear as soon as she responded, but Hikaru began to make his way over to where we were standing. Kyouya and I looked at each other in a panic; we needed to think fast. Eyeing what was around us, I came up with the idea to grab a few sun hats and make a run for it. Kyouya's idea involved sun hats as well, but he had something different in mind.

He swiftly grabbed one of the bigger hats and placed it on his head, grabbing my shoulders and cornering me between the rack and the wall. To my dismay, his idea seemed to involve hiding me instead. He placed both of his hands on my lower back and pulled my waist closer so that there was barely any distance between us, and he bent his neck so that his head was tilted downward towards mine.

I gulped. "Kyou—"

"Sh," he muttered quietly, bringing our faces even closer together.

I could already feel my heart beating at a rapid pace.

Hikaru was just about to walk even closer to us, but Haruhi called him over again. "Hey, Hikaru! Come here! Why don't you try some of these pickled yams?"

"A-Ah, be right over," he said, making his way towards Haruhi again.

Kyouya stayed still for ten long seconds.

"Senpai, you can let go now," I muttered almost inaudibly. My fists were still placed firmly on his chest and I was still looking down, embarrassed by the fact that our foreheads remained touching.

"Is the coast clear?" he whispered.

I hesitated for a bit to listen out. Haruhi was already talking to Hikaru about buying souvenirs, and they appeared to be at a safe distance. They began to walk away after a short amount of time. "Coast clear," I said.

Fortunately, he'd finally backed away so that I could breathe again. He sighed, taking his sun hat off and placing it onto my head instead. He eyed my face with a blank stare as I awkwardly stood still. "Something up?" I asked.

He took it back off, took a peek at the price tag, and began to walk in the other direction. "Hey!" I called out. "Where are you going? Wait up!"

"May I purchase this item, sir?" he asked the cashier politely.

"Certainly," the man smiled, "That'll be one-thousand yen, please."

Kyouya smiled politely, handed the cashier a one-thousand yen bill, ripped the price tag off, and placed it back on my head.

"Uh, Senpai, you didn't have to buy this for me; I have sunscreen. How much was that? Ah, I'll pay you back once we're back in Tokyo," I sighed nervously, wondering if I'd be able to do some housework for our neighbors in order to repay him.

"Hiroshi," Kyouya replied, raising an eyebrow at me. "How many times have I told you that a simple 'thank you' would do?"

"B-But Senpai," I stammered, worried that he'd taken money out of his own wallet in attempts to accommodate my needs. "I'm grateful, really! But why'd you buy this for me? I already told you that I have sunscreen..."

"I didn't buy it for you solely because you needed protection from the sun," he sighed, looking over at me once more and fixing his gaze on me for a few more seconds. "And I thought an honor student such as yourself would take a hint."

I didn't bother trying to decode what he was trying to say; this was one of those times where I really didn't feel like trying to figure him out, so I let it go. I gulped and opened my mouth in protest, however, but I shut it once I'd realized that my argument would be of no use; I most certainly wasn't going to be able to make him return it. I settled for a little smile and a slight bow of my head. "Well, thank you, Senpai."

This seemed to bring a slight smile to his face as well. "You're quite welcome," he said. "That wasn't too hard, now was it?"

I shot him a weird look as soon as we stepped out into the sun again, took my hat off, and plopped it right on his head. "You're the one who doesn't have much sunblock on," I said.

He shot a look right back at me and swiftly placed the hat back onto my head. "Oh, I put on plenty," he replied.

A few seconds had passed, and he began to walk in the opposite direction, but I removed my hat speedily again and placed it on the top of his head once more, chuckling to myself and turning around. I wasn't sure what had gotten into me just then; doing this seemed incredibly hilarious for some reason.

He sighed and repeated his previous actions, placing it back onto my head, but I only did the same with him. We repeated this process twice more until the two of us were looking at each other with wide eyes. I couldn't stop myself from letting out a loud snort, and with that, I covered my mouth with both of my hands in embarrassment.

Kyouya merely stood still and awkwardly stared at me for a split second, but the corner of his mouth began to tug up ever so slightly. The other corner of his mouth tugged up even more as he broke into a series of long, loud laughs.

It was contagious; I'd never really seen Kyouya laugh like this before. Despite the fact that it seemed to appeal to me, the oddly ridiculous way he was positioned had me cracking up alongside him for quite a bit.

"Moron," he chuckled, wiping one of his eyes and plopping the sun hat back onto my own head. "I do hope you're aware of the fact that your attempts at an argument don't quite serve a purpose."

"Who are you calling a moron?!" I asked irritably.

Suddenly, we heard Tamaki's voice through the walkie-talkie we were provided with. "Hikaru's still not being cooperative!" he wailed.

"Tamaki-senpai, calm down," we heard Kaoru sigh.

"How could he call himself a host club member?!" Tamaki cried. "I should switch with Hikaru; I'll show her a good time!"

"Quit it!" Kaoru shouted.

Haruhi and Hikaru could be seen from where we were standing, and there was a little old man with a childlike voice and a moustache that was obviously fake. He was headed towards the pair. "Ice cream! Ice cream! Anyone want some ice cream?" he called out.

It didn't take long for us to realize that it was Hani-senpai. Tamaki, Kaoru, Kyouya, and I looked back and forth between each other in a moment of panic until Mori-senpai rushed in, sweeping Hani off of his feet and leaping behind a small stand that was close to us. "Bad idea," Mori said blankly.

Hikaru looked around suspiciously until he'd realized that Haruhi was already at another stand. "Haruhi!" he called out, jogging up to her. "You shouldn't wander off like that, you know."

"I'll take one, please," she smiled at the vendor.

"Coming up right away, miss!"

Haruhi turned back over to Hikaru once the vendor had handed her the ice cream that she ordered, still smiling. "I heard that this place is known for their ice cream," she said. "Here, Hikaru. I'll let you have the first try."

Hikaru hesitated for a few long seconds before leaning towards the cone that Haruhi was holding out. "Fine, but if this sucks, we're playing a penalty game—_wuh!_" he exclaimed as the vendor pushed him out of the way abruptly.

"What a pretty young lady!" the vendor beamed in a seemingly different tone of voice. "Here's another one for you, on the house!"

"Ah, thank you, Sir!" Haruhi smiled, taking the extra ice cream from him.

"Uh, she didn't... she didn't even recognize him," I gulped. "That's freakin' Tamaki-senpai with the old vendor's clothes on!" I whispered roughly.

"Well, it would be considered indirect kissing if they'd shared the ice cream; I can see why Tamaki would be so worked up over such a thing."

"Hey," Haruhi began, "Can we stop by that little shop we were at earlier? We should get a few bags of those pickled yams."

Hikaru's face was distorted in confusion. "Haruhi, you're not supposed to buy souvenirs until the end of your trip; aren't you and Hiroshi staying here for a little while longer?"

"Oh, well they'd just be a gift for Kaoru."

"Huh? I don't get it," Hikaru said with a curious tone of voice. "How can you tell that I'm upset about Kaoru?"

"I just can," Haruhi replied casually. "Well, c'mon, let's try to get to them before they run out."

The two of them seemed to be enjoying themselves for quite a while after that. They visited nearly every shop and managed to find at least one interesting item or product in each of them. It was a little exhausting to have to run after them, but I was happy to see that the two of them appeared to be content.

We decided not to be too intrusive any longer and headed back to the inn since things were going fairly well. We needed to stop for some water and a home-cooked meal, anyways. The sky looked slightly less sunny at that point in time, but I wasn't too worried about it; I figured that Hikaru would be able to bring Haruhi back home safely in case a storm appeared to be coming.

However, as the evening wore on, darker clouds began to move in and the sunshine had disappeared altogether. I wouldn't leave the window; I kept looking out and hoping that things would clear up. To my dismay, the weather didn't seem to let up, and the light drizzle had transformed into a relentless downpour of rain. I couldn't quit biting my lip and moving around uncomfortably in my chair. I hoped that Hikaru would at least come home with Haruhi soon.

Tamaki, the only other person in the room who seemed to know about Haruhi's fear of thunderstorms, paced around the room nervously. He had such a worrisome expression on his face that it only made me grow more anxious by the minute.

The phone began to ring loudly, and Misuzu picked it up immediately. "Oh, Arai?" he asked. "Wasn't expecting to hear from you. Ah, what's this? Haruhi and Hikaru?"

It was then that Tamaki and I snapped our heads towards him as he spoke. "Hm, mhm, I see," he replied. "Yes, I understand. Thank you. Hikaru should have his cell phone with him, so we'll try giving him a call. Goodbye, now."

Tamaki rushed over to Misuzu immediately after he'd hung up. "What's going on?" he asked as I rushed over as well.

Misuzu turned towards us. "Evidently, Hikaru left Haruhi in front of the produce shop and decided he'd head back on his own."

"What?" the rest of us breathed out gravely.

"Arai said that Haruhi ran after Hikaru in attempts to find him once the downpour started, and he just wanted to make sure that the two of them got home okay."

"I'm calling right now," Tamaki said with a sense of urgency in his voice as he began to dial Hikaru's number. He put it on speaker so that we'd be able to hear him.

The ringing stopped after a few seconds. "Oh, hey, Boss, you've got great timing," Hikaru said on the other line.

My heart skipped a beat. "Is Haruhi with you? Where is she?" I asked right away.

He completely disregarded my question. "Think you could get a taxi to come and get me? I haven't had any luck hailing one."

Tamaki's expression transformed from concerned to furious. "You idiot!" he shouted. "I want you turn around and start looking for Haruhi right now! What kind of _jerk_ would leave a girl out in a thunderstorm like this by herself?!"

There was no response on the other end. Hikaru must have been shocked at the tone that Tamaki had taken.

"Now you listen to me," Tamaki continued angrily, "Haruhi is terrified of thunder; whenever she hears the sound if it, she gets so scared that she can't even move! Why don't you spend less time concentrating on your jealousy and worry about someone else for once!"

My heart skipped a beat once again, and I stood up abruptly and ran towards the front entrance as soon as Tamaki flipped his phone shut. I was too shocked to even realize that I wasbeing drenched while I stood out in the rain. I looked around frantically in a panic and began to run in the direction of the outdoor shopping center where we'd been earlier.

"Hiroshi!" I heard a voice call out from behind me.

I could barely see a thing through all of the mist and the continuous downpour of rain, and before I knew it, I'd tripped over my own feet for the second time in the day. I needed to make sure that Haruhi was okay. I wanted to know that she wasn't by herself.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned. "K-Kyouya-senpai," I barely managed to stammer, shivering in the cold as the rain continued to fall.

"You're going to catch a cold out here like this," he said sternly, trying to pull me up.

"I have to look," I pleaded. "Senpai, what if Haruhi—"

"Hikaru's already searching for her, I'm sure; Hiroshi, there's no reason for you to do this to yourself."

I looked up at him in pain. My ankle felt as though it had been sprained, but I tried to back away and limp on the other foot so that he wouldn't feel obligated. "I'll go back, I'll go back," I repeated. "Could you please just go ahead?" I asked, trying to wave him away.

Kyouya only continued to look at me in the midst of my helpless attempt to look like I was able to walk naturally, and I fell once again. He didn't hesitate a moment longer and lifted me up so that I was curled up against him with my forehead rested on his neck, and he made a dash for the inn as the rain continued to pour.

* * *

My vision was a little blurry once I opened my eyes. I hadn't been asleep for too long; it still seemed to be dark and rainy outside. I was back in my room, however.

I felt a slight ruffling sensation on my head; someone had been trying to dry my hair for me. Once my vision cleared up, I was able to make out a pair of dark eyes and damp, jet-black hair. It was Kyouya-senpai, alright, except he wasn't wearing his glasses.

"Senpai," I muttered groggily, "Don't worry; I can do this myself."

"Just relax," he replied quietly.

It was then that I realized he should have been even more tired from having to carry me. My eyes widened and I sat up immediately. "Gah, I'm so sorry! I could have managed, you know."

"You had a sprained ankle," he yawned, raising an eyebrow at me.

I noticed that my left ankle had already been wrapped in a bandage with one of those soft ice packs compressed to it. I opened my mouth to say something again, but Kyouya slowly lifted his hand and pressed his finger to my lips. "You can thank me by allowing me to sleep," he said.

"On the bed?" I asked, carefully trying to get up and lean on the edge of the mattress. He'd changed into a pair of dry, clean clothes beforehand, so I didn't really mind giving my bed up to let him lie down.

He climbed in and began to snooze immediately, and so I merely took a seat in the chair that he'd been sitting in while drying my hair. After snoring faintly for a few minutes, he changed his position, now facing me as he slept almost silently. I lied my crossed arms on the edge of the bed and rested my head on them to get a closer look at Kyouya's features; this was the first time I'd seen him without glasses up close. He looked even more stoic than he had before.

His black bangs fell over his forehead, and his breathing pattern was steady, so I assumed he'd been sleeping peacefully. It didn't come as much of a surprise to me that someone like him even slept gracefully.

I'm not quite sure what had gotten into me just then, but, as slowly and cautiously and I possibly could, I reached my hand out towards his head and began to gently run my fingers through his hair. I sighed. "I'm gonna pay you back for that hat, you know," I said almost inaudibly, as though he could hear me.

His eyes opened just slightly, and it was then that I pulled my hand away quickly; I'd remembered that he was always in a horrible mood when he woke up. However, he didn't react as bitterly as I believed he would have.

"Mhh," he muttered groggily, taking my hand in his and placing it back onto the side of his head and nearly forcing me to have my face close to his again. "Don't..."

"Don't what?" I asked quietly.

"Hiroshi," he murmured nearly inaudibly. "Don't stop; it felt nice."

My eyes widened and I could feel my face heating up rapidly; I didn't move much for the next few seconds. Just the way that he looked at me and his tone of voice seemed to have made my heart jump.

I then continued to run my fingers slowly through his hair, but he kept his eyes open. I wasn't too focused on them since I was more concentrated on not messing up his part too much, but he stopped me yet again. He slowly reached up to cup his hand to the side of my face, and it was then that I was forced to look directly into his eyes.

He had such a dazed expression on his face as he stared into my eyes that my heart began to jump again. This weird sensation that I couldn't seem to ignore had taken over; it felt like a form of anxiousness combined with tranquility, emotions that were polar opposites.

To my surprise, I could have sworn that, beyond the graceful expression that Kyouya wore even when sleepy, his cheeks had a little more color to them. The longer we looked at each other, the more his gaze deepened. His hand remained on my cheek, and he began to slowly and gently move his thumb on the surface of my skin.

"Kyouya-senpai," I muttered quietly.

The gesture was so relaxing that my eyes began to close, and it wasn't long before I drifted off.

* * *

Sunlight poured through my window, and I woke up to find myself lying on my bed again. Suddenly, I remembered that I hadn't found out if Haruhi and Hikaru had come home safely yet, and so I stood up cautiously. I hoped that Kyouya had found a comfortable place to stay for the night; I remembered him telling me a while ago that each of their families owned a small cottage in the area.

Luckily, my ankle didn't hurt nearly as much, and I was able to get dressed and freshen up without much trouble walking. Opening the door, I saw Kyouya and Kaoru leaning over the railing side by side, and I rushed over beside the two of them to lean over as well.

"Well look who finally decided to wake up," Kaoru chuckled. "Haruhi and Hikaru came in a little late last night."

"So they're here?" I asked.

"Oh, hi, Hiroshi!" I heard Haruhi call out from below. She was standing near the front entrance with Misuzu-chi and the majority of the rest of the hosts.

I did my best to walk down the steps without straining my ankle too much. "Gah, I was worried!" I exclaimed as we embraced each other.

"What happened to your ankle?" she asked, looking down with a highly concerned expression on her face.

"Ah, don't worry about it."

She sighed and bent down. "No fooling me, Hiroshi."

"I'm alright."

Seeing through my little act, as she's always been able to, Haruhi merely pushed one of the chairs so close to me that I was practically forced to sit. "I got a bag of pickled yams for you, too," she smiled cheekily. "Hopefully you'll like them! They sure were delicious to me."

"Gyaaaaa, Haruhi! So cute!" Tamaki squealed. He was at it yet again. "Would you mind smiling like that for Daddy one more time? Just once?" he asked, making an attempt to sweep her off of the ground.

"Get off, Senpai!" she exclaimed irritably.

The door creaked open, and Arai walked in with the same friendly smile he had on his face the day before. "Hey, what's up?" he asked.

"Hey! Good morning, Arai," I smiled.

"So, I got you guys some watermelon; my uncle's got the best in town!"

Hani-senpai rushed over, beaming. "Wah, that's huge!" he exclaimed.

"That's certainly an impressive melon, Arai," Tamaki laughed.

The room suddenly became quiet again once we heard footsteps; Hikaru had walked in. Everyone could feel a bit of tension as he walked up to Arai with a blank stare, and the two of them faced each other, standing still for a little while.

Hikaru's mouth tugged up into a charismatic smile, as did Arai's. "Here you go," Arai said with a cheery tone of voice, handing the melon over.

"Thanks a lot, Arai," Hikaru replied with the same friendly expression.

I looked back up at Kyouya and Kaoru, who, strangely enough, were already staring at me with smiles on their faces. I raised an eyebrow at them suspiciously. "Get down here, guys!" I laughed.

"Yeah, it's time for some melon!" Tamaki beamed.

With that, all of us gathered around the table and continued to crack up about more stories from Arai about middle school.

From something as unexpected as a wedding in Spain to a somewhat adventurous vacation in Karuizawa, I'd actually been enjoying it. Maybe the fact that they paid me and Haruhi a visit didn't bother me so much anymore. My first summer with the hosts was actually turning out to be pretty eventful. Nonetheless, it was certainly a summer that was so different that I knew would always be etched in my memory.


	28. Last Day of Summer

— _Chapter 28 _—

_**Last Day of Summer**_

* * *

Haruhi and I decided to do something more low-key for the last day of summer vacation. We'd been hearing about the Hometown Regional Products Expo that happened to be taking place at the Bonmal Department Store. It was located in the Izumi shopping center, which was about a thirty-minute bus ride away. Ranka and my mom happily agreed to give us a bit of food money and some change for the bus fare, and Haruhi and I managed to save up more from the summer job we'd been working at in Karuizawa for the past month. We only took a small portion of it with us, however.

"Be safe, girls! Haruhi, remember to just call Daddy if the two of you see any creeps! You know what I'll do to them!" Ranka beamed innocently as he and my mother gave the two of us a suffocatingly tight hug.

"The two of us will be out shopping, so make sure to call our cell phones if you need anything!" Mom giggled cheerily.

Ranka and my mom have always been pretty close; they've been shopping buddies for quite a while and would go on an occasional "Girls Day Out" when they were free. Despite the fact that Ranka wasn't really a woman, he had no problem at all with it and took plenty of joy in picking out stylish outfits and new makeup products.

"I'm afraid I'm beginning to run out of that pastel eyeshadow that I use so much," Ranka giggled to my mom in a feminine tone of voice that would make others question his gender.

"Ohoho, I know exactly what you mean! They have a new brand, though; we should try it out!" my mom smiled excitedly.

Ranka tossed his hair briefly. "I need to get another blouse that compliments my eyes well; I barely have any of those. Now how am I going to attract the customers at our bar without one?"

I looked over at Haruhi with the same blank expression that she wore. We weren't quite sure how we turned out the way we did with parents who loved to do such girly things.

"Well," Haruhi laughed nervously. "We'll be on our way, then."

After Ranka and Mom gave us a final squeeze and a reminder to be safe, we began to walk over to the station with a bit of laughter and excited smiles on our faces. This was the first year that this event was held on a day that the school year hasn't started yet, so we were looking forward to finally being able to have this experience.

The Izumi Shopping Center was one of the most enormous buildings I'd ever seen in my life. It was so big that multiple conventions could be held inside at once and things usually wouldn't be overly crowded. However, for this event, it seemed a little packed with grandparents, small children, and everything in between. It wasn't too difficult to keep up our optimistic approaches even with people bumping into us every once in awhile, though; we figured that such circumstances could only be the result of an enjoyable event.

The two of us managed to do quite a bit during the first hour we'd been walking around; it would be difficult for someone to be bored. There seemed to be an endless variety of foods and products from all around the country of Japan, and we'd certainly been enjoying ourselves. The atmosphere was so lively that it had put us in such a good mood as well.

"Two of those nikuman for two hundred yen? Not bad," Haruhi smiled, dropping a few coins into the chef's hand in exchange for the steamed pork buns. "Wanna try?" she asked, handing one to me.

"Thanks!" I beamed, taking a bite into the warmth of the freshly-made bun. "Ah, this is a great way to end summer, huh."

"Sure is," Haruhi replied with another relaxed smile on her face. "Hm, it kinda feels weird not having Tamaki-senpai around to bug us this time around."

I laughed. "I don't know if I'd speak too—"

"Mass production! Mass production!" two teenage boys seemed to be harmonizing loudly over and over again.

Our heads snapped towards the sound to see a certain pair of red-haired twins excitedly dancing around a dry-cleaning station, and we ducked behind the nearest stand. Peeking out briefly, we discovered that the two of them weren't the only ones standing around that area. The rest of the hosts appeared to be nearby as well.

We ducked behind the stand again and looked at each other with our eyebrows raised.

"But it's the last day of vacation," Haruhi said with a dismal expression on her face.

"_What are they doing at a products expo in a freaking department store?!_" I roughly whispered.

She sighed in reply. "I don't even know anymore."

"What's this over here? Ah, look! A nikuman stand!" Tamaki called out excitedly.

Haruhi and I looked at each other in a panic; they were headed in our direction. With that, I decided that I'd jump out so that at least Haruhi would be able to enjoy her last day of summer vacation.

"What are you doing?!" she whispered roughly to me, grabbing my arm and trying to pull me down again.

"Go ahead and enjoy yourself," I whispered back with a small nod and a light pat on her shoulder.

"But—"

"Hiroshi?! What a pleasant surprise!" Tamaki exclaimed heartily as Haruhi remained hidden. "Do you happen to be with—"

"Nope, nope, I'm here by myself," I laughed nervously. "Just uh... just checking out the expo since my mom wanted me to."

Tamaki was clearly trying to hide a look of disappointment on his face as soon as I told him that I was alone. I couldn't help but feel sympathy for him; I don't think he'd truly gotten quality time with Haruhi even though all of us practically spent the entire summer together.

"Hi, Hiro-chan!" Hani beamed excitedly. "Hey, I heard they were selling ice cream on the rooftop! C'mon, let's check it out," he giggled, jumping off of Mori's shoulders and over to me. "You have a bit of money, right? I'm sure it doesn't cost too much."

I looked back at the stand that Haruhi had been hiding behind as we began to walk away, and I saw her peeking out from behind with a concerned expression on her face. "Hiroshi!" she mouthed.

"It's okay," I mouthed back. I waved my hand at her with a nervous smile as Hani continued to drag me along with the group towards the stairs.

"Let us make use of the staircase!" Tamaki called out majestically.

"There's an elevator, Senpai," I said, pointing to the nearest one. "We could use them instead of tiring ourselves out."

"This is about the experience, Hiroshi! We want to see how you and Haruhi live on a daily basis. This is why we've come here today!"

I gave him with a slightly irritable stare. "But... we do use elevators on a regular basis, if they're available," I stated blankly.

He clearly hadn't been paying attention to my suggestion. With the others following close behind him, he made a dash for the doorway that lead to the steps. "Whee!" he laughed.

He was like an obnoxious brother who was overly enthusiastic about normal things, but I couldn't help chuckling to myself. It was clear that he and Haruhi complimented each other well. I'd never say such a thing to her with a serious tone of voice, however. I knew her reaction would consist of raising an eyebrow and glaring at me in the midst of blushing.

It took awhile for all of us to reach the rooftop, and I became a little irritable again, having to resist the urge to yell at Tamaki for not listening to me in the first place.

After stopping to catch our breath for a few minutes, the twins pointed in the direction of where the ice cream stand appeared to be. "Look there, Hani-senpai!" they chorused.

"Whaa, it looks so good!"

"Careful not to get a cavity again, Mitskuni," Mori cautioned. This was the most I'd heard him talk in a while; I'd almost forgotten how deep his voice was.

"I won't, Takashi!" Hani giggled in reply, leaping over to the vendor with money ready in his hand.

"Gah!" I shouted. My arm felt like it had just been punched five times over. It turned out to be the twins, who pushed me out of the way in order to get on a ride.

"Sorry, Hiroshi!" the two of them said in unison. "Hey, what's this thing called, anyway?"

"A carousel?" I chuckled, rubbing my arm continuously and hoping that it wasn't bruised. My ankle had just finished healing up completely from that one night in Karuizawa; I wasn't exactly in need of another injury.

It was then that I'd realized that Kyouya didn't seem to be anywhere in sight. I figured it may have been too early in the morning for him to come along with the rest of the group, but I was still curious as to whether he'd still been asleep at that point in time.

"Hey, Tamaki-senpai," I began nervously.

"How may I be of assistance, my daughter?" he asked, resting his elbow on my shoulder. "Lovely day, isn't it? Ah, if only Haruhi were here to experience it with us,"

"Uh, where's Kyouya-senpai?" I asked, slowly pushing his arm away.

"Don't be silly, Hiroshi; he's standing right over—" he began, peering around frantically. "He's, uh,"

"You miss Kyouya-senpai already?" Kaoru asked. I was startled to find that he and Hikaru had already been standing behind me.

"And you only saw him a few days ago," Hikaru giggled.

"Wh-what?" I stammered irritably. "You weirdos, I'm just wondering," I sighed, smacking their Kaoru's arm lightly and rolling my eyes. "Anyways, did you guys try to drag him along or..."

Tamaki wore a pensive expression on his face, stroking his chin and trying to remember what had happened earlier in the day. Suddenly, he pointed his finger in the air so enthusiastically that one could imagine a light bulb floating over his head. "Ah, now I remember! Gentlemen, we're going to have to search for Kyou—"

"You're on your own, Boss," Hikaru sighed. "Sorry, but we're kinda having fun up here, and it's kinda your fault that we lost track of him, anyways."

"But..." Tamaki began, giving them the widest puppy eyes he could muster up.

The twins turned away immediately to avoid persuasion. "Just go to customer service and have them make an announcement," they said in unison.

"Hmph," Tamaki exhaled indignantly, crossing his arms and pointing his chin upwards. "Fine. Hiroshi, you'll be coming with me, then."

"Gah, wait!" I exclaimed as he linked arms with me and made a dash for the stairs again. It was clear that he wasn't going to listen to me until we reached the level we'd previously been on.

Once we finally got to the floor that Tamaki had been dragging me along to, his eyes began to wander around in search of a customer service desk. He pulled me by my arm once more when he'd finally located one.

The person in charge just happened to be a teenage girl, and Tamaki suddenly smiled. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feeling like smacking him at that moment. He strolled over to her with the same charming smile on his face and took her hands in his. I was kind of surprised that she didn't take into account the fact that someone who was a stranger had made such a move. Instead, her face had turned such a deep shade of red that I was sure she'd explode at any moment.

"My dear, would you be so kind as to offer us a bit of help?" Tamaki asked sweetly.

"Ah, certainly," she muttered quietly in reply. "How may I help? Are you lost?"

"Well, we're actually searching for someone."

"I see. Could you please give a description?"

"A boy," Tamaki smiled cheekily. "Let's see, what was he wearing today? Oh, right! He's dressed in a beige button-up, black jeans, and brown sandals. He wears glasses and has black hair, too."

"I'm sorry," the girl sighed after a few minutes of trying to remember whether or not she'd seen such a person. "We could also try to make an announcement."

"Brilliant!" Tamaki beamed before whispering Kyouya's name to her. She asked for our names as well.

"Got it," she smiled. "I'll make one right away," she said, pressing one of the buttons on the device in front of her and lowering her face to a small microphone. "Attention shoppers," she began.

I couldn't help but feel that something like this would embarrass him, but it couldn't have been too bad. It wasn't like she'd be referring to him as a little boy. Or, so I thought.

"This is an announcement for a lost child," she said, speaking clearly and slowly.

"Uh, Ma'am," I began.

She didn't seem to hear me. "Attention shoppers," she repeated. "A little boy named Kyouya Ootori is lost in the shopping center. I repeat, Kyouya Ootori is lost in the shopping center. His guardians, Suoh and Katou, are waiting for him at the customer service center on the second floor."

Tamaki and I looked at each other in a panic and began to wave our hands around, but she only proceeded. "Kyouya has black hair and is wearing prescription glasses. He is..." she began, looking towards Tamaki once again with the same cheeky smile on her face as she'd worn before. "Ah, how tall is he?"

"Uh," Tamaki muttered, gulping and holding his shaky hand up to demonstrate numbers.

It was then that she'd finally given us a weird look. "He's five feet and eleven inches tall."

"Oh sheesh," I muttered, smacking my hand to my forehead.

Tamaki laughed nervously again. "Thank you very much," he said as the two of us bowed. "We'll be waiting on the bench over there to see if he comes."

I took a seat next to him as he scratched at his head anxiously. "Well, hopefully he wasn't too offended or caught off guard," he said. "When he's upset, he stays like that for a while."

I laughed. "The two of you seem pretty close."

After pausing for just a bit, a smile formed on his face. This had to be the first time he hadn't smiled in a way that made me uncomfortable. "It does feel as though we've been friends for quite a long time," he replied. "I guess you could say we know each other pretty well. I'm sure there's a side of him that not everyone else has truly seen yet, however."

"And what would that be?" I queried.

"I'm not completely sure if I'm correct," he yawned, stretching his arms behind his head and looking up at the ceiling. "But I think it has to do with breaking that cool exterior of his, if that's even possible."

"Cool exterior, huh."

He exhaled with another smile on his face and turned to look at me. "I think you're the reason why he's been acting differently, Hiroshi."

"What?" I gulped. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"Hm, how can I explain this?" he wondered, staring up at the ceiling again.

"Uh, Senpai, I don't think—"

"Aha!" he exclaimed suddenly, making a dramatic gesture for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day. "Hiroshi, I've got it," he began, looking back towards me with a slightly more serious expression. "It's the way he looks at you."

I gulped, looking down with my eyes widening by the second. "Don't be silly," I said quickly.

He took a more majestic stance. "I kid you not, Hiroshi!" he said charmingly. "He has this look on his face whenever he talks about you."

"And what the heck does he say about me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I suspected that he'd been chuckling to himself about my clothing choice that he always seemed to be so critical of. It was either that or the fact that I never acted like a proper lady.

"Oh, he'll usually slip something into a conversation about how your jokes are too cheesy and outdated, or he'll wonder why you looked so happy about something as simple as us getting a sketchbook for you."

"Hey, that wasn't just any old sketchbook," I declared.

"I'm serious," Tamaki replied. "I've honestly never seen him so interested in someone else's personality before. For someone like Kyouya, he seems awfully intrigued by you."

I shot Tamaki a weird look as I felt my face beginning to heat up. "Oh, I'm sure he talks about plenty of other people."

"No, not quite in that way," Tamaki shrugged. "The fact that he notices your quirks is something I didn't really expect from him. It kind of makes me wanna laugh when I see that face he makes. It's kind of like admiration and amusement mixed into one, even though he tries to cover it up."

"I-Is that so," I stammered, doing my best to hide the fact that I felt anxious for some reason. I wasn't sure what the heck was wrong with me.

"Aw, look at you!" he giggled, giving my cheek a pinch and therefore earning him a smack on the hand. "You're blushing!"

"Oh, quit it!"

"Don't try to deny it; you two are definitely OTP material!"

I shot Tamaki another weird look. "You watch too many dramas!" I frowned. "I can't believe you just used that freaking term!"

He only giggled again. "How adorable!" he exclaimed.

He'd nearly given my cheek a second pinch when someone else had put their hand in the way of his. "What exactly do you think you're doing, Tamaki?" a highly irritated voice queried.

Kyouya happened to be standing right above us, and I could tell from the expression on Tamaki's face that he'd earned himself a death glare. I was correct; this was one of the grumpiest expressions that I've seen Kyouya make. The fact that his hair was slightly messy and that his shirt was a little wrinkled gave off that he hadn't exactly been having the best day so far.

Haruhi, who was standing behind him, appeared to be a little irritable as well. They'd probably bumped into each other after the others dragged me along. Hopefully he hadn't freaked out too much when his name was called.

"Ah, Haruhi!" Tamaki smiled cheekily, grabbing her by the hand. "Let's go join the others, shall we?!"

"But Senpai," she began with an exhausted tone of voice.

"There's ice cream on the rooftop! It's delicious! And I saw these adorable cell phone charms that were on sale as a couple set!"

"A couple set?" Haruhi gulped. I could see her face turning pink as she looked down at her hand that was interlocked with Tamaki's. "What the heck are you talking about?"

"Oh, I mean," Tamaki laughed nervously in reply, beginning to turn red himself, "Ah, since you're my little girl, I think it's only proper that we have matching cell phone charms!"

"Tamaki-senpai!" she shouted irritably as he pulled her along.

Kyouya and I stood alone for a little while until the two of them were no longer in sight, and I looked over cautiously. He had the same exhausted expression on his face that he'd had a moment ago.

"Kyouya-senpai, what exactly is going on?" I asked nervously.

"You want me to explain?" he muttered irritably. "I was up until five in the morning filling out applications, and this idiot decides to barge into my room along with the other clowns to disrupt my sleep," he huffed, pushing his glasses up. "And so I wind up in a place that isn't within walking distance of home, without my phone and without my wallet."

A little boy who was running around happened to run into Kyouya. He lied on the ground for a few seconds, staring up at Kyouya with a dumbfounded expression on his face. By the time I'd reached out my hand, it was too late; he was already sobbing and running in the opposite direction. Kyouya had been wearing an even more angry expression on his face. His eyebrows were arched in a way that would terrify any little kid.

I gulped again. "Senpai, it was only an accident."

He sighed, pressing his hand to his forehead. "My ride should be arriving in a few hours. We may as well have a look around."

His tone wasn't too convincing. I offered to give him a bit of change for a bus ride back home, but he said he'd rather take a tried-and-true method of transportation. I couldn't really blame him, so I reluctantly agreed to walk around with him until Haruhi gave me a call.

"So you said you were filling out paperwork?" I asked.

"For university."

I knew he was considered exceptionally smart, but it seemed a bit early to be applying to colleges.

"Already?" I queried.

"There are honors programs that my brothers have participated in to be eligible heirs to the Ootori Group, so I'll need to begin even earlier."

I wondered which colleges he'd applied to. University of Tokyo was probably one of them, seeing as it was one of the top business schools in Japan. I didn't want to pester him, though; I'd save those questions for when he wasn't so tired.

Fortunately, he seemed to have warmed up a bit after we'd strolled around for a while. He would occasionally crack a smile at me as we talked and was willing to try a few of the food samples being offered as long as they were spicy. He claimed that foods with a kick made him more alert.

"You know, I wouldn't really mind eating explosive ramen on a day-to-day basis as long as it's cooked well. Mala soup isn't half bad, either."

"What the heck are you trying to do, burn a hole in your mouth?" I laughed.

"I just don't care much for sweets or other types of food."

"Says the guy who claims to bake perfect cookies," I replied.

"Now that doesn't necessarily mean I enjoy eating them."

Suddenly, we heard a series of giggles coming from behind us. "Dreamy and cool? He's just my type!" a group of girls squealed.

Kyouya and I turned around to find three more teenage girls dressed in feminine clothing staring at him dreamily and stepping even closer to him shamelessly.

"Um, excuse me," one girl giggled in a high-pitched voice. "Would you please tell us where the customer service center is? We seem to be lost," she asked, standing on the tips of her toes and standing so close to him that I'd practically been pushed out of the way. She was holding both the map and her face close to his own.

"If you take this stairway to the second floor and make a left, you should arrive at the information counter," he replied with a blank expression, guiding his finger along the pathway.

"Oh my gosh, that's awesome! Thank you so much!" the three of them squealed in unison, skipping away together after giving Kyouya another dreamy stare.

He sighed. "If they were going to be so obvious, they may as well have confessed on the spot."

I wondered if he was flattered by it in the slightest, but I shrugged off all of the weird thoughts in a matter of seconds as we continued to walk.

"Are you wondering if I'm flattered?" he asked. The corner of his mouth began to tug up slightly.

My eyes widened. Great, now he was reading my mind.

"Let's see," he continued, "I'd have to say that, in this case, I wasn't surprised in the slightest."

"So modest," I responded sarcastically.

He disregarded my statement and leaned in towards me slightly. "You weren't pushed aside too roughly by that girl, were you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I replied, backing away from him to avoid any feverish sensations.

Another series of giggles came from behind us. I assumed that the three girls were standing behind us yet again, but it didn't surprise me too much. However, I was only okay with the situation until a certain point.

"What the heck," one girl sighed. "Is she his girlfriend or something?"

"No way," another replied indignantly. "Why would such a good-looking guy go for someone like her?"

As if that hadn't been enough, the third one spoke up as well. "Gosh, the clothes, too."

I only continued to walk. It didn't exactly feel good to hear those things being said about me, I was kind of used to it. I was always picked on in elementary school for these kinds of things, anyway. Dealing with it seemed to be the best way to handle situations like these, and so I remained facing forward.

However, Kyouya didn't seem to think that this was the best solution. He suddenly grabbed my shoulders and turned me in their direction.

I shot him a weird look. "What the—"

"Excuse me, young ladies," he began with one of those hidden-motive polite smiles on his face.

The three of them stopped chatting altogether and looked up at him anxiously.

"I'm not certain the three of you know who you're talking about," he continued. "You see, she's an intern at the Hitachiin Design Incorporation, and she'll likely be taking up the position of co-head designer in the future."

The first girl who spoke up appeared to be the most nervous out of the three. As soon as Kyouya had mentioned the name "Hitachiin", they froze.

"Would you like me to give her a call?" he smiled politely once again. "I can confirm, if you'd like."

After they stared at me in shock for a few more long seconds, Kyouya continued. "Please keep in mind that judging based on looks won't get you very far."

I thought that it was odd for him to say such a thing since he made comments about my clothing on a fairly regular basis, but I didn't speak up at that moment.

He took me by surprise yet again, taking my hand and interlocking his fingers with mine. "Let's get going. It's getting a bit dark outside, don't you think, sweetheart?" he smiled, pulling me along so that we were walking in the opposite direction.

I narrowed my eyes at him for inducing more feverish sensations despite my attempts to avoid them. The way he called me such a pet name so naturally made my heart race rapidly again, and I wanted to beat myself up for it.

My face began to heat up again. "Sweetheart?!" I exclaimed, letting go of his hand once the three girls were out of sight. "What the heck was that?!"

"You think I'm the kind of person who would tolerate such things? My family has had dealings with the Hitachiins for years. An insult to even an intern isn't something I'd allow."

"But what the heck was the other thing about?" I asked irritably.

"Well, you need to do these things with finesse, you know," he said coolly.

"What," I gulped.

My phone began to ring, and once I saw the picture of Haruhi on the front screen, I flipped it open. "Everything alright?"

"Hey, I'm getting the feeling that Tamaki-senpai isn't gonna let me go home anytime soon," she replied with an exhausted tone of voice.

"_Haruhiiiiiiii!_" Tamaki exclaimed on the other end excitedly. "There's still so much I want to do here!"

"You already bought a dog, Senpai!" she huffed. "Isn't that enough already? Sheesh. Anyways," she continued, "You and Kyouya-senpai can head home already if you'd like to. We have school tomorrow, after all."

"We can wait; if your dad knows I left you here with Tamaki-senpai, who knows how long he'll rant to me."

"Don't worry, I'll give him a call," she said. "I'm sure they'll give me a ride home later. Ergh, Senpai, stop pinching my cheeks!" she shouted before the line had been cut off.

"Everything alright?" Kyouya asked.

"Well, I guess I'll be heading out now. It's getting dark. Just make sure that Haruhi gets home safely, okay?" I asked. "Thanks for sticking up for me. See you tomorrow, Kyouya-senpai," I said, bowing slightly and turning in the opposite direction.

I knew it was late in the afternoon, but I was surprised by the fact that it was so dark once I stepped outside. I could see the moon in the sky if I tried hard enough. I tried not to be too paranoid waiting at the bus stop, but I couldn't shake the thought that someone was staring at me.

My prediction was correct. A guy who was slightly taller than me appeared to be standing next to me, and although there were others around as well, the fact that he was eyeing me made me less than comfortable.

"Excuse me, Miss," he said with a raspy voice.

I turned to find that this man was likely older than me, with stubble and messy hair. I'd be lying if I said that he wasn't dressed in what appeared to be a delinquent's clothing.

"May I help you?" I asked in a calm tone of voice despite my nervousness.

"Say, I know a nice little place down the street. How would you like to go for a drink?"

I gulped. "No thank you."

"Oh, c'mon," he said reassuringly. "It'll only be for an hour or so."

"Excuse me, Sir," another voice began.

My head snapped to my right, and I hoped that it wasn't who I expected, seeing as he'd already done enough for me that day. To my dismay, it had been exactly who I thought.

"When a lady declines your offer the first time around, it's unlikely you'll be able change her decision," he explained calmly.

The large vehicle had pulled up, and Kyouya took my hand in his for the second time today. He narrowed his eyes at the man once more before pulling me along with him up the three steps that led to the inside of the bus.

Before I could even squeeze a word in, the two of us were sitting side by side, and Kyouya looked more tired than he had all day. "Hiroshi," he sighed, "how many times are you going to get yourself into situations like these?"

"Hey, I never said that you had to bail me out, you know! I appreciate it, Senpai, but I'm capable of handling things like this on my own."

The bus began to move forward at a faster pace. "Where did your ride go? Wouldn't your dad be expecting you to come home with your chauffeur?" I asked.

"I didn't think it would be a smart decision to leave you at a bus stop when it's this dark outside."

"Meaning?"

He sighed irritably once again. "I worry about you," he said, seemingly on the verge of rolling his eyes.

"Hey!"

"Letting guys ask you out for drinks and pinch your cheeks... sheesh," he muttered. "Just how many times did Tamaki pinch you, anyway?"

"Why is that important?" I queried. I figured I'd answer him directly once I realized that he wouldn't quit staring at me without me doing so. "Once," I said. "But I smacked his hand away, so it doesn't really mat—"

He reached up quickly and squished my left cheek between his thumb and his forefinger lightly, not letting go for a few long seconds as he stared tiredly at me. "Now we're even," he yawned, ruffling my hair lightly before resting his head back onto the top portion of his seat.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Weirdo."

"Moron," he retorted.

I was just about to make a comeback, but I closed my mouth once I turned to see his eyes closed. "I'm just resting my eyes," he muttered quietly.

"It's kind of a long ride home."

"I know, I know," he murmured almost inaudibly.

"Good luck trying to stay awake," I chuckled. "Well, on second thought, maybe I should take a nap, too. Since we've also got a club meeting after school."

He didn't respond. I tried to say his name quietly a few times, but it was clear that he was already snoozing. He eyes didn't budge even when I tried to shake his shoulder lightly.

I resorted to poking at his cheek repeatedly. "Get a good night's rest so that you're not cranky tomorrow for the guests who have been waiting all summer, got it?" I muttered quietly.

Kyouya's head began to tilt away, and since I was given the seat next to the window, I realized that he would be falling towards the walkway if I hadn't done something about it. Grabbing his arm and pulling him back to where he was sitting, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Slowly again, his head began to tilt to the side, but it was towards me this time. It wasn't long before he let out another deep yawn, and in a matter of seconds, his head was rested on my shoulder.

I hadn't noticed until now that the first few buttons on his shirt had been unbuttoned for the majority of the day, and now that his neck was extended just a little, his collarbone and his jawline seemed a little more prominent. My heart rate began to speed up again in realization of it. After brushing a few strands of hair away from his forehead, I carefully took the spare cardigan I kept in my bag and draped it over him.

He made a little grumbling noise, nodding his head back and forth lightly and scooting closer to me, leaving no more distance between us. "Hey," he muttered almost silently.

"S-Senpai?" I stammered nervously.

He grumbled once more and nodded his head lightly again, and his face began to tense up a little. I assumed he was talking in his sleep.

"You," he began quietly. "You're clueless."

"Huh?"

"Moron," he exhaled after a few seconds.

"Jerk," I huffed, hoping he could hear me this time around. He still appeared to be asleep, however, and so I settled for narrowing my eyes at him as though he could see me.

He sighed lightly, still resting his head on me. The corner of his mouth began to tug up slightly, but it fell again.

He yawned yet again as his expression gradually changed back into a relaxed one. I swiftly fixed the sweater I'd draped over him, gave him a quick pat on the head, and took a deep breath. It looked like I'd have to stay awake so that we didn't wind up missing our stop.

Trying my best to ignore the warmth on my shoulder, I planned out the next day carefully. I had my summer work complete, which I'd turn in first thing in the morning. I hoped I'd be able to answer questions correctly if I'd been called on, but I felt fairly assured since I reviewed plenty. And, of course, after the final period of the day had ended, it was back to working on designs. I knew I could expect lots of fangirly squeals as soon as the last bell would ring. The doors of Music Room Three would be open to customers again. Another school year with the hosts was bound to be an interesting one.

* * *

_**Author's Note**_

I really hope you guys have enjoyed this long chapter! What did you guys think? The next one is long, too. I'm in the process of writing chapter 30. I'm trying to make it shorter since I've already typed so freakin' much for the two latest ones. Thank you so much for reading!


	29. Halloween Test of Courage Tournament

— _Chapter 29 _—

_**A Halloween Test of Courage Tournament**_

* * *

Walking through the hallways of Ouran Academy after vacation was refreshing in a way. Not too much had changed from last year, but at least all of us could say that we had another year of high school under our belts. I was practically forced to wear a hideous yellow dress, however. Boy did I love coming home and being able to toss that thing aside. I knew I'd dread having to put it back on the following mornings, though. All students had permission to wear different clothing for school events and such, and I was most likely the only person who took advantage of that opportunity on a regular basis.

We resumed club activities and I was able to get back into the swing of things in terms of designing. Despite the workload, the sense of productivity made me more alert and inspired, and all of us agreed that my designs have improved from last year as well. There was definitely a nip in the air; summer was practically gone, and fall had arrived.

Here I sat in homeroom, successfully blocking out all of the chattering and sketching the basic outlines of what the host club's next set of costumes was going to be. Since Halloween was coming up, Tamaki told me that he wanted the hosts to dress up in vampire attire, with capes and fangs and things of that sort.

I'd recently gotten into sketching the hosts' features and basic body shapes before drawing the clothes, and it certainly helped the seamstresses. It was enjoyable to visualize what their hair would look like and which auras they'd give off.

"Hiroshi!" Hikaru and Kaoru exclaimed in unison, jolting my shoulders and causing my head to snap up. "Hah, we scared you!"

I scowled. "Aw, c'mon," I sighed. "I was in the middle of something."

"Now, now. Please settle down, everyone," our class representative Soga Kazukiyo said, looking sternly upon all of us after pushing his glasses up. "We're beginning to discuss class plans for next week."

"Ah, next week," Haruhi muttered blankly.

Hikaru nodded. "Yeah! You know what Hiroshi's been working on in her sketchbook all morning."

"Before I was rudely interrupted," I said, narrowing my eyes at him and Kaoru.

Our class's vice-representative, Kurakano Momoka, wore a bright smile on her face as she stood beside Soga. "Well, after we're finished taking our fall exams, we get a few days off until the end of October," she explained, tucking her long brown hair behind her ear. She beamed. "We get to throw costume parties on campus to celebrate!"

"In addition," Soga continued, "to promote camaraderie, each class is allowed to use an entire day for a special event of their choosing."

"Class event? I don't remember Tamaki-senpai mentioning a class event," Haruhi said quietly. "I thought Hiroshi's designs were just for the hosts' Halloween meeting."

"Well, they are. Don't worry, though; the few days we're off of school are actually kinda fun," Kaoru said reassuringly. "We did the same thing in middle school."

"Right," his brother continued. "We socialize, watch some old movies... stuff like that."

A female student dressed in what looked like a pink Sailor Moon uniform jumped up on my desk, nearly giving me a heart attack. Her bangs were parted in the middle and she wore a bow in her hair. It was only when I looked up that I realized who exactly she was.

"Boring, boring, _boring!_" she shouted.

This girl was none other than Renge Houshakuji, also known as the host club's lady manager, the otaku, and Kyouya's former fangirl. I'd nearly forgotten about the fact that she'd attended Ouran.

"Halloween!" she squealed, holding her hands up in the air. "The day that sounds the death knell of summer and ushers in the icy breath of winter! The day when ghouls walk the earth, and disguised as ghouls, we try to ward them all off!"

I gulped, still stiff in my chair. "Uh, Renge—"

"Halloween!" she cut in once again. Then she giggled excitedly. "A day for wearing costumes! A day for playing pranks on trick-or-treaters, too!"

She jumped up and down repeatedly, making feminine poses each time while doing her "ohohoho" laugh.

Haruhi only blinked at her. "So what's up with the uniform?" she asked.

Renge giggled once again in such a high-pitched tone of voice that one could easily mistake it for shrieking. "Well, just between us, this is the female uniform in _UkiDoki Memorial 2_, which isn't scheduled for release until next spring!" she beamed, holding another pose for us. "What do you think?"

Haruhi, the twins, and I only continued to stare at her, but she squeezed in one more statement before she was asked to step down. "I know a few significant people on the inside, if you catch my drift."

Soga eyed her nervously as he walked up to where she stood, looking upwards and ruffling his brown hair up. "Excuse me, Miss Houshakuji, we're having homeroom right now," he gulped. "Could you please step down from the desk?"

"Tea parties and cosplay?!" Renge squealed, completely ignoring Soga's request. "The host club practically does that nonstop! What our Halloween requires is something special!"

Her tone of voice reminded me vaguely of when she made the hosts film that drama at the beginning of last school year.

"Miss Houshakuji, we kind of need to decide these things as a class—"

"So I propose holding a Halloween Test of Courage Tournament! The bravest student wins!" she announced, pointing her finger up in the air once more.

The students didn't seem to be shocked anymore; they were now chattering excitedly about such an idea. Hikaru and Kaoru certainly looked intrigued.

"A Test of Courage..." Hikaru began.

"Tournament, you say?" Kaoru finished with a mischievous smile.

"Here's what we'll do!" Renge continued. "Well ask the superintendent to give us access to the school after hours when it's dark. Then, we'll all dress up in our freakiest costumes and proceed to have the time of our lives by scaring the absolute crap out of each other!"

The twins giggled. "Hah! Yeah, we're in!" they said in unison. Their grins turned into smug ones once again. "We really like the part about it being dark."

While the rest of the class continued to talk amongst themselves eagerly, Soga waved his hands around frantically as sweat drops began to form on his forehead. "Now, now, everyone," he exhaled, "Why don't we think this through? We can't all go individually; we should at least be in groups of three or four."

Kurakano seemed to have missed Soga's point, and she smiled graciously. "You're right! Teams would be scarier!"

It seemed as though Soga was about to pass out on the spot. His voice began to crack at every other word he said. "U-uh, everyone, please."

Hikaru snickered. "And anyone who leaves—"

"—gets featured on the front page of the school newspaper as Captain of All Cowards," Kaoru continued.

"Seconded!" the entire class exclaimed cheerily as Soga continued to perspire.

"Um, alright, then," he sighed, pushing his glasses up once more and trying to hide his anxiety. "Are there any objections to the majority vote? Any at all?"

No one spoke up for a good ten seconds. I couldn't help but feel sympathy towards him, but I didn't think something like this would be too bad. As long as I wasn't forced to wander around at night by myself with such circumstances, I didn't have a problem with it.

"Anyone?" he repeated, looking like he was going to burst in sobs at any minute. "Anyone at all. C'mon, anyone?!"

Silence followed._ Sorry, class rep,_ I thought, staring at Soga with a guilty expression.

He surrendered, hanging his shoulders and sighing. "Oh, very well... the motion passes unanimously. The class 1-A event for this year will be a special Halloween Test of Courage Tournament," he announced gloomily.

The entire class cheered. With that, it was official. Hopefully I was teamed up with a group that wouldn't leave me behind. I highly doubted such a thing would happen, though; our class was generally friendly. This was probably going to be fun.

Music Room Three had opened its pair of intricately made double doors the evening of Halloween. I already knew that the host club liked to decorate our club room with the highest extent of authenticity in mind, but I found the setup for the Halloween theme to be pretty impressive. The windows were draped with dark curtains and candles and jack-o-lanterns served as the main light sources. It gave off such a dark aura that it could have been easily mistaken for the room that Nekozawa and his black magic club used on a daily basis.

Seeing everyone dressed up had me smiling shyly once again; sometimes it felt like I was a professional and the hosts were my models. They looked great every time they wore one of my designs.

"You've done well once again, Hiroshi," Kyouya said. He was smiling only slightly, but it was just enough to catch a glimpse of the fake fangs that were over his teeth. The sets of false fangs that the hosts wore still allowed them to speak without too much difficulty, and speech seemed almost natural.

"Thanks, Senpai," I laughed, looking in the direction of where the others had been standing. "You guys look great in these costumes."

"Why thank you."

"We sent pictures to our mother," the twins said in unison, walking over to us. "She was impressed as always."

"As always?" I asked, looking down shyly. The fact that Yuzuha Hitachiin herself considered me an intern at her company was already enough to give me a heart attack. It came as even more of a shock to me that Hikaru and Kaoru had been showing my designs to her on a regular basis.

"Oh, shush," Kaoru laughed, patting my head.

"You already know that she loves you, so what's the big deal?" Hikaru asked, resting his elbow on my shoulder. "No need to feel embarrassed."

"But I'm an ametuer!" I exclaimed, hugging my sketchbook tightly as I could feel a blush coming on.

"Like you aren't flattered," they chuckled in unison.

"I am," I replied hastily. "But you really don't have to go through the trouble of showing her my designs."

Hikaru sighed. "Can't we be proud of our friends from time to time?" he asked.

"We like to showcase your talents occasionally, you know," Kaoru chuckled, giving my cheek a pinch.

Kyouya's eyes widened just slightly as he pushed Kaoru's hand out of the way. It seemed almost instinctive for some reason. Clearing his throat, brushing himself off, and backing away with another blank expression, Kyouya looked at the pair. "Go ahead and change out of your costumes," he said calmly. "I believe your class event will be starting shortly."

"Whatever you say, Sushi," the two of them said, skipping along with linked arms towards the prep room.

"Have you broken your uniform in yet, Hiroshi?" Kyouya chuckled once he looked back over to me.

"I hope you're kidding," I replied. "I'm definitely not running around in this thing for that Test of Courage Tournament. I can tell you that much."

"Treeck or treat, girls," Tamaki murmured seductively with a Romanian accent.

I had to hold back a laugh. It was a wonder how the guests even remotely liked being spoken to in such a manner.

"Geeve me candy, or else your blood," he continued, pulling a squealing customer over by her waist and leaning in so that his face was closer to her neck.

"Oh, Tamaki!" she exclaimed. Her face was reddening by the second and it looked as though she were close to having a heart attack.

"Alright then, I'm gonna go ahead and change now so that I don't puke," I sighed at Kyouya before walking to the prep room. Hikaru and Kaoru had already changed back into their uniforms, so I was free to get dressed.

I made sure to pack an entirely black outfit to blend in a little better. Pulling out a black three-quarter-sleeve shirt that matched my cargo shorts, leggings, and black hiker boots (which were a gift from Hikaru and Kaoru's mother), I almost felt like some sort of government agent.

The twins raised their eyebrows at me once I stepped out with my bag over my shoulder. I tucked my hair behind my ear before the pair came up to me with mischievous grins on their faces. "Dang, look at you," they said. "What'll Kyouya-senpai think?"

"Shut it!" I huffed.

Hani jumped away from his half-eaten pumpkin pie in his little vampire costume to get a closer look at me. "Wow, Hiro-chan, you look so cute!" he beamed, revealing his own false set of fangs.

"Ah, thanks," I laughed nervously. "It's the boots that Hitachiin-san gave me, right?"

"They look great on you!" he giggled.

For a pair of hiker boots, these were pretty comfortable and easy to move around in. It was a relief that I was able to take those horrid, tight-fitting shoes, to say the least. I definitely couldn't complain.

"Well, children," Tamaki sighed at me, Haruhi, and the twins. "I suppose you must get going, then."

"Will do, Boss," Hikaru said, saluting him. "You'll meet up with your own group, right, Hiroshi?" he asked.

"Guess I will," I replied. "You guys can go on ahead."

After the three of them waved and headed out, Tamaki let out another sigh. "Well, I suppose we still have four hosts to entertain these lovely young ladies, now don't we?"

It was then that he paused. His eyes seemed to widen in a panic. "Wait!" he exclaimed. "If Haruhi... Hikaru and Kaoru... they..." he gasped, as if coming into a sudden realization. He looked over to the rest of us with a grim expression on his face. "What if those two take advantage of Haruhi being scared?!" he shouted.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Kyouya sighed, shutting his black notebook with a snap.

"Oh no, oh no," Tamaki repeated grimly, pacing around the room. He was practically hyperventilating at this point. "What if my little girl jumps into their arms or clings to them or begs them to save her?!" he cried out.

A loud creak resounded across the room accompanied by a deep laugh, causing all of us to jump. A large black coffin had been opened slowly, and out came Nekozawa, grinning and holding up his Bellzenef puppet slightly higher than usual.

I gulped. "Uh, I'll catch you guys later, then," I said quickly before dashing out of the club room.

I didn't have much trouble finding my group; they were stationed at the same place they said they'd be: right in front of the science lab on the third floor of the east wing. I wasn't quite sure if being paired with Renge was a blessing or a curse, but the other two, Kyoko and Machi, were pretty friendly and didn't seem to be too afraid of lurking around in the school after hours.

"Let's look harder for people to scare!" Renge exclaimed excitedly, followed by eager nods of agreement from the other two. "See, if we jump up from behind a wall, they'll be even more surprised!"

She stopped in her tracks and held the three of us back. "I think I hear something," she whispered roughly.

Sure enough, Hikaru, Kaoru, and Haruhi happened to be right around the corner with Soga, who was so terrified that I could hear him panicking.

It was then that the twins began to chuckle again. "Hey Kaoru," Hikaru began. "Why don't you tell us the story about the Evil Clock Tower Witch?" he laughed mischievously.

"One Halloween, many years ago, a girl dressed in a witch costume fell to her death from the tower," he said. I could see his grin from where I was standing.

"And now, whoever sees her ghost on Halloween night... shall be cursed forever!" they exclaimed in unison, laughing their heads off afterwards as Soga let out another horrified screech.

"Gaaah! Go ahead and call me the Captain of All Cowards! Scream it from the rooftops; just get me outta here!" he cried out, flailing his arms in the air.

"Whaa!" Renge exclaimed, accidentally tripping and bringing the three of us down with her. "Sorry, guys," she gulped quietly.

The other four looked over in our direction and jogged over to us. "Were you planning to scare us, Milady?" the twins chuckled at Renge. "What were you gonna do, fangirl us to death?"

"Haruhi!" she giggled, jumping back up and pushing the twins out of the way roughly. "How is a handsome young man like you holding up?" she smiled.

In that moment, a large shadow seemed to have passed by, and all of us stiffened. Kyoko and Machi gasped and clung to me, and Renge jumped closer to Haruhi. "Ah, guys, I'm sure it was nothing," I laughed nervously, giving my two classmates a pat on the head.

Soga was on the verge of tears as he began to perspire yet again. "What the heck was that?!" he exclaimed.

There were rhythmic tapping sounds coming from the staircase that was right in front of us, and a round object seemed to be bouncing down the steps at a gradually faster pace. Once it landed in front of us, we'd discovered what exactly it was.

"S-_Skuuuuuuuuull!_" Soga shouted, sending it bouncing back up the steps with one hard kick.

This was the first time I'd seen Hikaru and Kaoru so frightened.

"Yeah, you show them, Class Rep!" Hikaru gulped as he and Kaoru clung to each other.

"C'mon, it isn't your turn yet, guys!" Kaoru nervously called out at whoever may have been at the top of the staircase.

We saw a creepy figure walking out from the top, it was then that we'd made out a creepy woman dressed in a white, baggy dress. She had her head hung, and her long, jet-black hair covered her face completely as a eerie groaning sound came out of her. With that, Kyoko and Machi jumped and clung to me once more. All of us stiffened again.

"H-h-hikaru!" Kaoru gulped, shivering alongside his twin. "Is that..."

"The Evil Clock Tower Witch?!" all of us exclaimed.

This was practically as bad as when we took that trip to Nagano last winter, except this time, we knew it wasn't the result of a fangirly Obaa-chan watching an Asian drama.

"Why did you kick... my _skull?!_" the woman screamed in a raspy tone of voice, suddenly rushing towards us down the staircase and revealing her scarred face.

"_GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_" all of us shouted, running in different directions.

I didn't quite know my way around the school like the back of my hand yet, but I tried my best to navigate as I ran. Sprinting alone in the dark and being more tired than I have in a while, I didn't think that things could have possibly gotten any worse. However, I'd realized that I couldn't be more wrong when I heard a pair of fast-paced footsteps coming from behind me. I caught a glimpse of who had been running behind me. It was the woman with scars on her face, groaning as she leapt after me.

"Ugh, c'mon, now!" I yelled, trying ignore the fact that I was absolutely terrified.

I was planning on finding the nearest exit, but the storage room that was about to come up on my right seemed to be my only option. So, with my last bit of energy, I tore off towards what seemed to be a storage room, leapt inside, and slammed the door shut.

Leaning my back against the door and sliding down so that I was crouched down, I took a few minutes to catch my breath. It was then that I'd realized that the woman had probably only been someone dressed up in a costume, and, with another deep breath, I stood up and turned around to turn the doorknob handle.

It didn't budge.

After perspiring and trying several times to turn it, I gave up, looking around frantically until I saw a figure standing next to me with a flashlight in his hand and a book in the other.

My eyes widened as I jumped back and grabbed the nearest item I could find: a small unplugged lamp.

"Stay back! I'm not afraid to use this thing!" I shouted, only to realize that it was the one person who always seemed to show up when I least expected it. He was back to wearing his school uniform.

"What the..." I gulped. "What the heck are you doing in the storage room, Kyouya-senpai?" I asked, lowering the lamp and placing it back on the ground carefully in embarrassment.

He eyed me with a weird expression and sighed. "Why on earth did you shut the door? I left it slightly ajar for a reason."

"Well, when you're being chased by someone who's dressed up as some creepy dead woman from a horror movie..."

"Tamaki just had to go all out, didn't he," he said, resting his hand to his forehead and taking a deep breath. "This was all Nekozawa's plan since that moron wouldn't quit pacing around the room in a panic."

"So the others participated then, huh."

He nodded. "Of course. Mori-senpai painted his face green to look like Frankenstein, and Hani-senpai wore a jack-o-lantern on his head. And, well, you already saw what Tamaki was dressed in."

"So you didn't dress up along with them?"

"I saw no purpose in doing so," he said, walking back to the sofa that was located in front of the window. This place seemed a bit fancy for a storage room. It could easily be mistaken for a tiny classroom, except without seats and desks. There were various items stocked up on shelves as well, however, so it was just a little cramped.

"And you've been reading this entire time," I said, shooting him a weird look as he set his book and his flashlight back neatly on one of the shelves.

"Nekozawa-senpai thought I was ruining the fun. He ushered me elsewhere so that I wouldn't rain on his parade. Anyways, I suppose we're just going to have to wait for someone to walk by."

"I guess we could make a sign to slip under the door, then. Let's see, I wonder if there are any markers or sheets of paper around here somewhere," I said, peeking around and stepping over a number of items on the ground. An arts and crafts kit finally caught my eye, and so I carefully walked over to the shelf it was on. Unfortunately, I was too short to be able to reach it easily.

Grumbling to myself, I stood on the very tips of my toes. "Almost... there..." I muttered, stretching as far as I could in an attempt to obtain the kit. "Just a little more," I said quietly.

"Ugh, really!" I huffed, jumping up briefly and causing myself to fall back just a little.

Kyouya was standing directly behind me, which prevented me from falling backwards completely. "I don't see why you find it necessary to avoid asking for help," he sighed, placing his hand on the side of my waist and pushing me forward as he reached up.

His outstretched hand was working his way towards the kit, brushing against my own every few seconds. I had to resist the urge to roughly push him out of the way since he was already so close to reaching it. To my dismay, the feeling of him being so snugly pressed up against my back made me feel like I was going to have a heart attack at any moment. "Th-that really isn't necessary," I muttered irritably.

Ignoring my statement altogether, he remained in this position for a few more seconds after he'd finally grabbed ahold of the kit. "Got it," he muttered with a mildly triumphant grin.

Suddenly, a large shadow had been cast over us.

High-pitched screams seemed to be coming from everyone outside as we'd realized the shadow was in the shape of a cat. It was visible to everyone on campus and was undoubtedly Nekozawa's doing.

"What the heck is going on?!" I shouted, stiffening once again and hastily trying to escape from the little space between Kyouya and the shelf.

Unfortunately, I was a bit too hasty.

"_Waah!_" we exclaimed in unison.

The two of us toppled over, and with a loud thud, I could feel Kyouya's weight on me. "Freaking... Senpai... can't breathe," I managed to croak, narrowing my eyes. "Hey!" I coughed out.

He breathed out in what seemed to be pain, and I maneuvered my hands in a way that I was able to push him away slightly. It was difficult, but I could breathe just a little more easily. "You okay?" I asked. I slowly moved out from underneath him and held him by his shoulders so that he was sitting up.

"Gah, I'm so sorry," I said hastily. "What's wrong? Where does it hurt?"

"My leg," he replied.

It seemed that he'd hit it on something; there was a bruise forming on his shin. Luckily, the room seemed to be equipped with all sorts of things, and it took about ten minutes to find an ice pack that I could press against it. I crouched down to perform the action as I faced him. "Sheesh, I'm sorry. I really am," I sighed irritably at myself, clasping my free hand over my forehead.

"Don't worry," he replied tiredly. "It isn't horrendous; I can deal with it."

I let out a sigh. "I hope the others come by sometime soon. If I'd realized that it was Tamaki-senpai in that costume earlier, you wouldn't have... sheesh," I muttered, pressing the other side of the ice pack to his leg.

Kyouya peered into my face with a just a hint of curiosity in his expression. "Why are you so concerned?"

"You're injured, if you haven't noticed," I replied, raising an eyebrow at him. "You do quite a bit for me already, to put things simply. I care about you a lot too; I hope you know that."

Something about the way I'd suddenly said such a thing made me a little embarrassed. It didn't help that Kyouya didn't seem to brush that statement off. I slowly looked up at him to find his eyes slightly wider than usual. He looked a little shocked.

"Why do you look surprised?" I asked quickly, looking back down. "Our friendship's always been this way," I said, feeling as though I'd been trying to play it off. "It's been this way for everyone in the host club, I'm sure."

Something told me that this wasn't the truth, though. It seemed like Kyouya was different in terms of the relationships I've developed with the others... our friendship was a weird one. It was hard to figure out why Tamaki and the twins pinching my cheeks only irritated me, but with Kyouya, something as simple as our hands brushing up against one another's made me inexplicably anxious. It drove me crazy trying to figure out why he always made me feel the way he did.

He tilted my chin up so that we were face to face. He's done this in the past, but it was different this time. It seemed like his only intention was to get me to look directly at him.

"I appreciate it," he said quietly with a subtle, good-natured smile that I hadn't seen in awhile. "Thank you."

That crazy emotion of anxiousness and tranquility combined washed over me yet again as he looked at me with such an expression. In that moment, I wanted to beat myself up for thinking so, but it was the sweetest look he'd ever given me.

"Kyouya-senpai! Hiroshi! Where are you?!" we heard the twins calling out simultaneously from outside.

I jumped up and rushed towards the door. "In here! In here!" I repeated, knocking on the door and then jogging back over to Kyouya. "Alright, Senpai, c'mon," I said, trying to help him up and throw his arm around my shoulder.

To my dismay, he was a little too heavy at that moment and we landed with another loud thud. He wound up on top of me again.

"Work with me here!" I croaked out irritably, narrowing my eyes once more and finding it difficult to breathe again.

"I'm sorry," he said hastily, making an effort to push himself off of the ground this time.

It was enough so that he was hovering just above me. In realization of how close our faces were, the two of us made an audible gulp. His eyes widened along with mine, and, to my surprise, his cheeks now had a little more color to them.

"Kyou-chan! Hiro-chan! You guys okay?!" Hani shouted from outside, kicking the doors open alongside Mori.

Light flooded in. All of them stood in the doorway for a good ten seconds, frozen. They blinked at us, probably unsure about what to do in such a situation. I could feel my face beginning to heat up again once huge grins began to form on the twins' faces.

Well, this has certainly been a long night.


	30. Nagano, We Meet Again

— _Chapter 30 _—

_**Nagano, We Meet Again**_

* * *

It was a wonder how quickly the next few months had passed by. All of us spent our second Christmas and New Year's together, and it seemed even colder than last year. Things were pretty much the same this time around; all of the hosts got on my nerves, but at the end of the day, I felt lucky to be a part of their lives.

I couldn't help but be reminded of everything that had taken place last time there was so much snow on the ground. Fuyumi's wedding was one of the first things that came to mind, and I couldn't help but smile. The cookie-baking contest was something that came to mind, too, and the memory of Hani-senpai eating all of the pastries we'd baked to his heart's content made me laugh to myself.

My plan was for the hosts dressed in Christmas attire for this meeting; Tamaki and Kyouya would wear Santa suits, Haruhi and the twins would dress in elf costumes, and Hani and Mori would wear matching reindeer costumes. As silly as it sounded, they managed to pull it off and the customers were happy once again.

I looked out of Music Room Three's windows and stared at the snow with a sense of tranquility. But, unfortunately, my peace had been interrupted in a matter of seconds.

"Oh, Hikaru, you mustn't!" Kaoru gasped as his brother tilted his chin up. The two of them were at it again.

Hikaru chuckled in reply. "But I can't help myself... if no one is there to keep you warm during the rest of the winter season, then who will?"

"I-I…" Kaoru exhaled as his twin pulled him closer.

"Kaoru. I want to spend as much time with you as possible wrapped up in the sheets of our warm bed," Hikaru continued with a fiery passion in his eyes.

I could almost see the customers surrounding them having nosebleeds as they let out high-pitched squeals and flailed their arms in the air. Even after a while, this whole forbidden brotherly love act still made me feel uncomfortable, but at least I was a little more used to it at this point.

Hani pouted, hugging Usa-chan to his chest as his eyes began to water just slightly. "I can't find the box of chocolate mochi," he said. "They were a limited time Christmas special, too. I'm so sorry; I guess I can't share them with you pretty ladies," he sighed, looking down at the ground.

His group of customers sniffled, wiping the tears from their eyes with small hankerchiefs. "Aw, Hani, please don't be sad! It's okay, really!" they exclaimed.

Mori dashed over with a focused, tense expression on his face with the box that Hani had been looking for. He swiftly chopped it in half, pulled a small package out, and strode towards Hani. He bent over and held the package with the mochi to Hani's mouth, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Mitskuni," he began. "It was on the top shelf in the storage room. You put it there so that no one would take them."

Hani looked up with a huge smile on his face and jumped into Mori's arms. "Thanks so much, Takashi! You're the best!" he beamed, cuddling up to Mori and giggling in an a way that made the guests squeal in adoration even more.

A few hours had gone by, the customers had left for home after a final wave and a reminder to be safe driving home in the snow. I began to pack my things, feeling tired but accomplished.

"Hiro-chan!" Tamaki called out excitedly. The way he added such an honorific on to the first two syllables of my name made him sound like an older version of Hani-senpai. It kind of freaked me out.

I shot him a weird look. "Er, would you mind not calling me—"

"I certainly hope you're ready for this year's trip to Nagano," he cut in. "Guess what, since the producers of _Kaze Plus Keiko _released a new DVD set, we can have a marathon!" he beamed, brimming with so much happiness that I could almost see him sparkling.

Kyouya shut his notebook with a snap and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "Don't worry, we'll make arrangements for you and Haruhi to come along this time as well," he said.

I began to slip my coat on and nervously looked over at him. I opened my mouth in protest, but he'd already told me several times in the past that "a simple thank you would do."

"I appreciate it, Senpai," I smiled subtly to show my gratitude, even though I fought back the urge to object.

He nodded with his usual slight smile. "This'll be a bit of a shorter trip, however. We'll spend two nights at the ryokan we stayed at last year."

"There'll be a gift exchange as well," Tamaki added on proudly, making another dramatic gesture with his hands.

"We already did that, Senpai," Haruhi stated blankly, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "It would be a bit much to do something like that again. But if you insist, I'll need to spend more time trying to bake. I'm kinda tight on expenses, if you haven't noticed."

"Silly Haruhi!" Tamaki announced theatrically, rushing over to her and slinging his arm around her shoulder. "This time, it'll only be between the us, the hosts—_gaah!_" he screamed as Haruhi pinched his hand as hard as she could.

"Well, Boss, we're heading out," the twins said in unison, waving and bowing just slightly.

Hikaru motioned to the rest of us. "We'll see you once we leave for the Nagano trip, then."

"Be safe," Kaoru continued as the two of them began to walk out.

Tamaki leapt over to the twins before they were able to walk through the double doors. Boy did he seem to be bursting with energy today. "Not before we have a group hug," he declared indignantly, dragging them back over to the rest of us.

They whined in protest. "Boss, this isn't necessary!" they grunted in unison.

Ignoring everyone else's tiredness and reluctance, he somehow managed to get everyone huddled in an embrace with himself in the middle. Hani seemed to be squished between the twins and Mori, who towered over the rest of us.

Tamaki had Haruhi in one arm and Kyouya in the other, forcing Kyouya to have his arm around me to secure me into the hug.

Kyouya and I just happened to get a glimpse of each other for a split second that seemed like an eternity compared to what it was, and I quickly looked down to avoid any sort of heart rate increase or feverish sensation.

"Do we really have to do this, Senpai?" Haruhi asked.

"Why of course," Tamaki said majestically in reply. "In fact, we should do this every time we go our separate ways for the day! This is what a family does, right?" he asked, looking at all of us with a cheery expression on his face.

It was even harder to breathe when Mori secured the entire group into his arms. "If we stay like this for two more seconds... can we go home?" Mori asked in his usual deep tone of voice.

"Very well, very well," Tamaki smiled cheekily.

On the count of two, everyone gave one last squeeze and we were free to go home after Tamaki had given each of a pat on our heads. Well, I guess I could expect my mom to be triple-checking my luggage after I'd already packed it.

Baking for everyone to make sure no one felt left out seemed like the best idea to me, as Haruhi would be doing.

Suddenly, the image of Kyouya's smile had flashed through my mind. I sighed and rolled my eyes at the random thought, not knowing what on earth had gotten into me just then. For some reason, though, I couldn't quite shake the thought that maybe that smile would be nice to see.

I smacked my hand to my face at what I'd thought up next.

I'd need a bit of my mom's help with this. I was going to knit a scarf for Kyouya.

* * *

Obaa-chan gave me and Haruhi a good pinch on the cheek and a tight hug before we stepped in. Like last year, the two of us tried to put our own shoes away.

Everyone gasped once again.

"We're just being considerate!" Haruhi and I exclaimed in unison.

"It's quite alright, dearies," Obaa-chan smiled kindly, taking the shoes out of our hands as the others were already putting their house slippers on.

She looked over at Kyouya endearingly. "It's nice to see you again, Master Kyouya," she said.

Kyouya smiled politely this time around. "It's a pleasure as well, Madame."

After all of us were settled and Tamaki was finished proudly showing his DVD set to Obaa-chan. In a way, coming back to where we'd been before kind of made me feel at home. The warmth and the thought of relaxing in an onsen seemed to make all of my worries slip away.

"Hiroshi, I'll be going in first," said Haruhi, already in her robe and halfway out the door.

"Alright, be there in a sec," I replied.

Making sure the door was shut tightly and listening out for any footsteps, I quickly undressed and then wrapped a towel around myself. I searched for the robe I'd wear on my walk to the hot spring, still wary of whether someone was accidentally going to walk in.

Unfortunately, it wasn't long before I heard Kyouya's muffled voice being accompanied by footsteps. "Hiroshi, Haruhi, are you in there? I have an extra set of towels."

"Don't come in!" I called out nervously, clenching onto the fabric that was my only cover.

It was too late. The door slid open, and Kyouya had looked up from the towels slowly. "Oh, I'm…" he began nervously, letting the stack fall to the ground.

To my dismay, it seemed as though he was unable to move at that point in time. His eyes widened as he stood completely still.

Hikaru and Kaoru came jogging up next to him, only making me more frustrated and embarrassed than I already was. "Hey, Kyouya-senpai," they began, "What's all the commotion about? We thought this retreat was for peace and qu—oh," they finished as they turned their heads to look at me.

They sighed and turned back to Kyouya.

"We didn't know you had a perverted side," Hikaru giggled.

Kaoru chuckled alongside his twin as Kyouya only continued to stand still with a shocked expression on his face. "So you're a Peeping Tom," he laughed.

"Kaoru!" Kyouya finally exclaimed irritably.

"Get out!" I shouted as my face began to boil, dashing over to shut the door.

After trying to calm down so that I wouldn't have a heart attack at the start of our trip, relaxation in the onsen with Haruhi was exactly what I needed.

After the two of us were dressed, Obaa-chan happily allowed us to use her kitchen to bake whatever we needed to. We knew that the food that she cooked for us last time was amazing and unlike anything we'd eaten before, but I had no idea that the kitchen was so fancy. "Knock yourselves out!" she smiled kindly.

Haruhi looked at each other with excited eyes and began to gather our cooking supplies and ingredients. We were originally planning on making more simple confections, but with all of these tools available, we wanted to make dango and sakuramochi instead.

The only problem we came across was probably the fact that kneading the rice took so much energy and strength. Our shoulders even began to tense up after a while, but after everything we were finished, we realized that it was worth it. The sweets almost looked like they were professionally made.

Haruhi and I exhaled in belief and added the finishing touches to the desserts, pouring a little syrup on the dango and sprinkling the sakuramochi with a bit of powdered sugar. "We did well," Haruhi smiled, wiping her forearm across her forehead.

"We could be famous chefs," I laughed. "Nah, I'm kidding. We're a little busy for that."

"Well, maybe I'll just be a good cook on the side when I become a lawyer," she replied with a faraway look in her eyes.

I honestly didn't think that the idea was too far off.

"Well, I'll definitely root for you! You better give me a discount, then."

"Oh, I will."

"So how's Tamaki-senpai's gift coming along?" I asked.

"Ah, right," she laughed nervously, looking down as her face began to turn pink. "It's... it's not like that; I just don't want him to have to run out in the snow like the weirdo is without a pair of gloves."

I giggled in reply. "Then it's good my mom helped, huh."

"Your scarf for Kyouya-senpai turned out nicely, too."

I looked over at the small package with what I'd made inside of it. It was a gray scarf that matched the gloves that he always slipped on before he headed for home. I hoped he didn't already have it in the same color.

"Haruhi! Hiroshi! Get out here and join us already!" Tamaki called out cheerily from outside the door.

Everyone sat together around the glow of the fireplace, thanking me and Haruhi for what we'd made for them. Hani was especially happy and even pretended to feed Usa-chan, which I had to admit was pretty adorable.

Once Hikaru had opened the small package he'd received from Kaoru, he laughed nervously. "Ah, this is cute, Kaoru."

"What, you don't like it?" Kaoru asked suspiciously, opening his own package to find that he'd been given the same thing.

"Sorry," Hikaru said, scratching at the back of his head. "I got you the same thing."

Kaoru only laughed, putting his arm around his twin. "We can match!"

What Haruhi had made for Tamaki made him blush a little as he looked at her in shock. "Ah, what's this?" he asked. "Gloves?"

"I know you said you wanted to make a snowman, so… I didn't want you to get frostbite," she muttered quickly. "Hiroshi's mom helped me out with it too, so don't give me all the credit."

"Haruhi," he smiled with such a genuine expression that it made her turn away. "Thank you," he said, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

"A-ah, Senpai, get off," she huffed irritably, pushing him away as her face grew more red by the second.

"Aw, you really do care about me as a reliable Senpai!" he giggled happily, ignoring her request and hugging her a second time.

"Quit it!" she shouted in protest as he began to cuddle up next to her.

I stared at Kyouya for just a split second, remembering what had happened earlier on and looking away immediately again. If I didn't hand his gift to him now, though, there wouldn't exactly be another opportunity to do so. So, with the package ready in my hand, I was ready to toss it towards him and then continue to go about my business like nothing had happened.

It didn't seem that things would go according to plan, however. His phone began to ring, and everyone turned to look towards him.

"If you would please excuse me," he said, standing up and quickly walking through the door that lead to the patio.

The rest of us continued to talk loudly and laugh until our stomachs hurt for about twenty more minutes, but the package remained in my hands and I still felt anxious to hand it to Kyouya so that I'd feel relieved. I found myself curious as to what he'd think of my knitting attempts.

I was a little concerned about what was taking him so long. The patio was surrounded by glass walls, as its purpose was to allow people to view the array of snowy mountains in the distance. It was a little chilly compared to the other parts of the building.

Taking the package in one arm and a blanket in the other, I told the others that I'd be back shortly. It wasn't long before I'd reached the doorway to the patio, and after mustering up just a bit of courage, I turned the knob and pushed it open.

I was right about the room being a little chillier than the others, and Kyouya had been sitting in a sofa in front of one of the glass walls. After shutting the door behind me, I strolled over to where he was.

As soon as I saw a slight grin on his face as he continued to stare out at the miles of pure white snow, I became relieved for a split second. I ruffled his hair up as he looked up at me. "You're gonna get a cold if you stay in here," I said, throwing the blanket over his shoulders. I took a seat next to him and set the package down beside me.

"Sorry about earlier," he stated blankly, not seeming to be the least bit phased.

"O-oh, don't worry about it," I stammered.

"My father decided he'd call," he explained.

"Everything alright?"

"Same as always," he replied. "Making sure that my performance isn't faltering. I suppose he's still not the least bit impressed even though I've remained at the top of my class throughout the years."

I exhaled. "I understand that you're a hard worker, but you've gotta take a break once in a while."

"I'm afraid I can't," he said in a simple and matter-of-factly tone of voice. "Not if I want to please my father."

There was a long pause before he continued. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," I reassured him.

He pulled a small box out from his pocket and placed it in my hands. "I didn't get a chance to give this to you before my father called."

Before I could open my mouth in reply, he ushered me to open it. He must have known that I wouldn't accept another gift from him if he hadn't insisted.

Instead of allowing me to open it myself, however, he decided he'd do it. In a matter of seconds, his hands were positioned right next to each other behind my neck, and I heard a faint click.

After he was sitting back in his original position, I looked down just slightly to find the charm of the necklace that rested on my chest. My eyes widened at the sight of such beauty; although the design was simple, it made my face flush and my heart beat rapidly. "Senpai," I began in a panic, looking up at Kyouya. "This is too much compared to what I got you; this isn't a fair exchange," I gulped.

"And what would that be?" he asked, reaching over to take the package.

He untied the ribbon and carefully unwrapped it as I only watched anxiously. I couldn't even accept the fact that he'd gotten me something so pricey, let alone that I'd only be returning the favor with something that wasn't even close to half of the necklace's worth. "You don't have to wear it; I just knitted it with my mom's help. I still need practice, so—"

He put his finger to my lips momentarily before I could finish. To my surprise, he wrapped the scarf around his neck as the corner of his mouth began to tug up. "It's warm," he said. "Thank you."

"I should be the one thanking you," I said nervously. "I really appreciate it, Senpai. I wish I could say it a million times over. I'll even redo the scarf."

He exhaled deeply, cutting me off once again as he threw the blanket from earlier around the both of us and wrapped his arm around me so that there was no distance between us. "What are you…" I began as he brought me even closer.

"If you really want to thank me that badly, then sit here with me like this," he said. "Will you quit worrying already? This is just what I needed."

After another pause, I looked out at the snowy mountain range as the sky continued to darken. I remembered what had happened last year when Kyouya wasn't able to ski down one of the slopes successfully, and I automatically thought of the story he'd told me about his mother. My heart broke just then as I thought of the pressure he'd been under.

Instinctively, I grabbed onto Kyouya's hand. "Your mom is proud of you, Kyouya-senpai; I know it," I said, giving his hand another squeeze.

A bit of silence followed, and I released his hand, embarrassed. "Sorry," I muttered quickly.

He didn't move for a few seconds until I looked back up at him. To my surprise, after he'd worn a slightly wide-eyed expression for a moment, the smile I'd envisioned began to form on his lips. Warmth began to spread throughout me as I continued to look at him.

Almost as if I'd pass out at any second, I rested my head on his shoulder to catch my breath, and he wrapped his arm around me more snugly with a chuckle. "Don't apologize," he said.

We stayed like that for another ten minutes. For some reason, it seemed like it had gone by in a matter of seconds. Time seemed to pass so quickly when I was with him. I wasn't sure what on earth it was, but in that moment, all I wanted was for us to remain side by side.

I shook my head at the thought and pulled away. "We should get going," I laughed nervously, standing up and beginning to walk in the direction of the door.

After he folded the blanket neatly and set it back on the sofa, we walked out together to find the others acting in their usual manner.

Hikaru and Kaoru began to chuckle. "Hey, we were waiting for you out here! Save your affection for—_augh!_" they yelped in unison as I gave the two of them a hard pinch in their arms.

Kaoru only laughed nervously as he rubbed the part of his skin that I'd dug a nail into. "Boss is dying to get started on that Kabe and Kikko marathon or whatever."

"_Kaze Plus Keiko!_" Tamaki corrected them impatiently as Hikaru had grabbed onto my arm.

Before any of us could squeeze another word in, we'd been bunched next to each other all in one Japanese-style bed. We lied under one huge blanket in front of a large flat-screen, and Tamaki was brimming with happiness once the first episode began to play.

I didn't quite mind being squished between Haruhi and Hani. Almost everyone began to exclaim as well since we'd realized that Tamaki really wasn't kidding about the series. Despite being classified as a romance, it was suspenseful and action-packed as well. The quality and the graphics were incredible; I had to admit that it was one of the best dramas I've watched.

I glimpsed over at Kyouya, who had been squeezed between Mori and Hikaru. The irritable expression he'd originally worn on his face was gone; he couldn't take his eyes off of the screen. It was difficult to stifle a laugh.

The night wore on, and everyone began to fall asleep. Our second winter as a club was, in truth, a fun one so far. I drifted off as I fit in my last thought for the night.

Tamaki was right. We were like a family… I just hoped it'd continue beyond our last year together as high school students.


	31. Realization

— _Chapter 31 _—

_**Realization**_

* * *

The weather was still as chilly as before, even though the holiday season was technically over. Walking to and from school wasn't as difficult, however. Like last time around, the snow on school grounds was always well-plowed and Ouran's walkways were fairly easy to stroll through. I glanced up at the pale sky as I continued towards the gates, and I could still see my breath floating up in little clouds. It seemed to clear my mind so that I could have room to think about what the future would bring.

As much as Hikaru and Kaoru got on my nerves, I felt an immense amount of gratitude towards them for giving me the opportunity to work alongside their mother. She'd spoken to me recently about which universities I'd been considering applying for and gave me a list of the world's top design schools. "My boys were considering studying abroad in America," she'd said to me. She smiled. "I'm sure any design school would be happy to have a student with your grades and your talent."

I took a deep breath as I walked, producing another puff of warm air that would float upwards to join the clouds. There were so many amazing schools in London and the United States, but my ultimate dream had always been to get into Osaka Bunka Fukusou University.

Getting accepted would be perfect in almost every way. I'd be close enough to take the bus to visit my mom and to pursue my internship at the Hitachiin Design Corporation. Yuzuha Hitachiin herself even offered to write me a recommendation letter, which was enough to guarantee me a full scholarship.

These thoughts were both exciting and terrifying, all at the same time. I repeatedly told Yuzuha that she didn't need to go through so much trouble, but she kindly insisted she'd seen true potential in me and that, besides Hikaru and Kaoru, I deserved it more than any other grade school student she's known.

The way such a well-known designer told me something so profound and so meaningful had me smiling and momentarily forgetting all about my worries. I smiled with her words in mind as I walked up the staircase and stepped into homeroom. The chattering made me snap out of my daydream, and Haruhi, Hikaru, and Kaoru began to wave me over as soon as they caught a glimpse of me in the doorway.

Once all of us were settled in our seats and the chattering had ceased, our class representative, Soga, stepped over to the front to make a few announcements. A few of them were reminders to keep our jackets neatly hung in the the appropriate spaces to avoid confusion and smaller announcements about class activity. This wasn't any different from the daily routine until our vice representative, Kurakano, walked up to join Soga with a bright smile.

"If you're in a school club, then please pay close attention," she began. "This is the time of year when clubs begin to prepare for a competition of some sort. Last year was a sports festival, and the year before was a cook-off."

"This year, something a little different will be taking place," Soga continued. "Clubs will need to put a little more creativity into things in terms of theatricality."

Hikaru and Kaoru chuckled. "Boss won't be having any trouble in that department," they whispered in unison.

"Each group will be acting out a few parts of a Shakespearean play."

Ah, Shakespeare. Only one of the most challenging things to memorize lines out of. I hoped that we'd at least be able to choose which one of his plays we could act out, but Soga and Kurakano announced that they would be assigned to us.

As soon as the school day was over, we headed over to the club room to discuss plans for rehearsal. The assignments had gone so far as roles, which we heard Tamaki ranting about as soon as we'd opened the pair of double doors. It was fortunate we didn't have any customers visiting today.

"It isn't fair; the host club gets 'Romeo and Juliet' and I'm not a main character?!" he exclaimed, running around the room in circles furiously. He suddenly looked up at everyone. "Haruhi and I are the anime's canon pairing! All of you were supposed to be the homosexual supporting cast!"

"What on earth are you talking about, Tamaki?" Kyouya asked tiredly.

"Anyways, I won't allow my little girl to play Juliet; there's too much romance involved," Tamaki exhaled. "Haruhi, please listen to what Daddy says," he pouted, looking over to her with his infamous puppy eyes.

Haruhi sighed. "Senpai, it's not that big of a—"

"Ah, Hiroshi!" he suddenly exclaimed, jumping over to me. "How about you switch roles with her?"

"Excuse me?" I asked irritably.

I honestly didn't mind that I'd gotten a minor role. It would be easier for me to design while memorizing the few lines I'd have to recite. Putting one-hundred percent of my effort into the costumes and saying a few lines while I wore a fake moustache didn't seem like a bad idea. But, unfortunately, with the way things were right now, I'd have to play a bigger role. There was no doubt Tamaki would be sobbing for days if he saw Haruhi in a dress as she played the love interest of someone else.

"Please?" Tamaki asked quietly, peering over at Haruhi.

"I'm not even considered a host."

"You're still a club member, so you're plenty eligible enough for the role," he laughed nervously.

Just lovely. I'd been guilt-tripped into playing Juliet.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You owe me."

His began to brim with happiness once again. "Thank you so much! You're too generous!"

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered. "Anyways, which roles do the rest of you have, then?"

Kyouya looked up from the screen of his laptop and took a second to fix his glasses. "Well, now that you're Juliet, Haruhi will be playing Benvolio," he explained. "Tamaki will be taking the role of Escalus, Hani-senpai to Friar Lawrence, and Mori-senpai to Montague."

"And Hikaru and Kaoru?" I queried.

"It was actually decided that they'd be playing Mercutio as a set of twins," he replied.

It only made sense; splitting this particular character's quick and witty comebacks would probably make our act more successful. "So I assume Romeo would be…" I began with a more practical tone of voice until I trailed off.

Something clicked, and that was when my eyes widened. "Kyouya-senpai," I gulped.

"Correct," Kyouya replied casually. "I suppose I'm stuck with around the same number of lines as you are, Hiroshi."

I could feel myself becoming more nervous by the second, but it was all so that Tamaki wouldn't have to see Haruhi kiss someone else. I'd have to put up with it.

However, it wasn't too long before another realization had hit me. I jumped. "So does this mean I have to…" I began.

Hikaru and Kaoru giggled, and I narrowed my eyes at them as my face began to turn red.

Kyouya walked over to me with a grin. "Don't worry," he said. "It'll be a fake one."

Just the thought of our faces being near each other made my heart pound, even though it's already happened several times in the past. I couldn't wrap my head around it for a few long seconds, and I slung my bag over my shoulder again. "I'll work on the designs at home; I th-think I'm coming down with a cold," I stammered, nearly halfway out the door. "I'm sorry! I'll see you guys tomorrow!" I called out hastily.

I felt a little guilty leaving all of them in the club room with confused expressions on their faces, but I couldn't help the fact that Kyouya always managed to make me feel as though I had a fever. It was irritating. The worst part about it was that I couldn't even figure it out.

* * *

I was able to get the costumes done within two weeks and three days. Like all other design concepts, this one was fun to imagine. I did my best to keep both authenticity and comfort in mind, even though clothing in the Elizabethan Era couldn't have been too convenient to walk around in all day. I certainly wasn't going to make them wear real armor or chain mail. Certain parts of the outfits they'd worn back then needed to be left out in order for the hosts not to look ridiculous, so I made it a point to leave the puffy hats and feathers out of the picture.

It was hard not to smile to myself when I'd gotten to designing my own costume. This was the first time I was going to be able to wear something I'd created. After putting my sketchbook back into my bag and carefully placing my pencil set next to it, I set aside more time to memorize my lines. All of us agreed to practice for around a month or so before we got into groups to rehearse, so it gave me a bit of time to get my nerves out.

All of us stood in the club room, anticipating the arrival of the seamstresses. We'd already sent the designs to them a few days ago at this point, and they gave us a call earlier in the day to schedule the drop-off.

"Hiro-chan, can I see, please?!" Hani-senpai asked excitedly, leaning over as Mori carried him on his shoulders.

Just then, there was a knock on the door and all of us came rushing towards it. Tamaki opened it to see two middle-aged women pushing a rack of clothing through, and he smiled charmingly at the two of them. "Why, you lovely ladies must have worked very hard to get this order done in only a few days. Your effort is much appreciated."

"Oh, there's nothing we can't do for a group of such fine young students," one of them replied with a cheery smile. "The pleasure is always ours."

After the the two of them made their way back out of the doors, I sat back with an amused smile and watched everyone else grab their costumes and rush to the prep rooms. I decided to wait until everyone else was dressed up; I wanted to see all of them as a group first so that I could admire how they looked in them.

I took a seat on one of the small sofas that was near the entrance to the club room, pulling my sketchbook out again along with a single pencil. I waited patiently, letting my thoughts drift as I doodled our names above our respective outfits. Flipping through each page and feeling a strong sense of achievement, I stopped at Kyouya's.

It wasn't too long before I looked up, allowing my mind to drift again as I proceeded to doodle his name. I hoped that things would go okay despite the fact that I'd never really recited lines in front of anyone before. I've done presentations and interviews before if someone counted what I had to do to get into Ouran, but it was nothing like this.

Slowly, I began to look down to make sure I hadn't gone too off track while writing out Kyouya's name; I'd successfully done this several times during my middle school art class. To my dismay, however, I found that I'd written something entirely different.

Sushi.

I jumped just slightly as my eyes widened. "What?" I muttered, quickly tossing the sketchbook to my side. I put my hands to my face as I leaned over in my seat, hoping to God that it was a simple mistake.

None of it made sense to me. I didn't know why I felt so embarrassed whenever Hikaru and Kaoru teased me with their stupid jokes about Kyouya and I didn't know why my heart began to pound in Spain when Fuyumi asked me if I had feelings for him. Trying to remind myself that it was possible to have a friendship like this that was nothing more, I took a deep breath and looked up again.

It appeared that, without my noticing, Mori had managed to walk in and bend over right next to me without making a sound. It was a wonder how he pulled off such stealth, but then again, he and Hani were experts at things of that sort.

He towered over me even more than when I was standing up.

"Oh, are you finished?" I asked him. "It looks like the costume fits pretty well on you."

He didn't respond for a few seconds until he'd taken a closer look at my sketchbook that I'd tossed to the side. "Hm," he muttered, continuing to stare at it.

I realized that I'd left it turned to the page where I'd accidentally written the twins' nickname for Kyouya in the place of his real one and quickly grabbed ahold of it. "Ah, I was just kidding around," I laughed nervously.

"Hiroshi," he began after I spent a few long seconds vigorously erasing the word. I was a little surprised; this was probably the first time I'd ever heard him say my name.

"What's wrong?" I asked, still making an attempt to get rid of the letters.

He bopped his fist on the top of my head with a bit of force, causing me to look up at him immediately.

"Hey, what was that for?" I asked, giving him a weird look.

After a few seconds of awkward silence that consisted of us staring blankly at each other, he spoke up with the same deep tone of voice. "You're hard-headed," he stated with a simple expression that made me question his seriousness.

"What the heck are you talking about?" I laughed, rubbing my head for a second and then making an attempt to move out of the way to stand up. "Well then, I'll just go ahead and check up on the others to see how they're doing."

I heard Tamaki yelp from the other side of the door. "Gah, my finger!" his muffled voice exclaimed. "Mommy! Haruhi!"

"If you just would have been more careful with the zipper," I heard Hikaru mutter with an agitated tone of voice. "Hold still if you want us to help you, sheesh!" he and Kaoru shouted in unison.

"See? Having wardrobe malfunctions already," I chuckled, taking a step forward.

However, it wasn't too long before I'd been prevented from walking any further. I felt a bunch of pressure coming down on my right shoulder that seemed to be Mori's hand, and before I could do anything about it, I was sitting down on the sofa once again. I looked back up at him with a weird expression on my face, trying to lean to the side to stand back up. His hand didn't budge, and I was still unable to move.

"What's going on? Is there something bothering you?" I sighed tiredly, crossing my arms.

"I hope you've already realized by now," he said with a slightly more stern expression.

I raised an eyebrow at him as my heart began to pound out of nervousness. "You're kind of scaring me," I began anxiously. "I haven't done something to upset you, have I?"

"That one night in Karuizawa," he stated.

I thought back to summer, trying to rack my brain for what I could have done to anger or sadden anyone. "What happened in Karuizawa?"

"After Kyouya carried you back inside. He slept beside your bed on the floor. He didn't go back to his cottage," he explained. "His back was killing him the next day. He covered it up... just so that you wouldn't worry."

I looked down as a sense of guilt began to wash over me. The fact that Kyouya would do such a thing for me made my stomach churn. "Ah, I'll have to apologize to him a little later when everyone has their costumes—"

"The Cherry Blossom Festival last year," he cut in. "He still has that picture of you. I saw it when it fell from his bag a few days ago."

I shut my mouth almost as soon as I'd opened it in protest. I remembered when he snuck a shot in when I was staring up at the petals, but I never suspected he'd keep it.

"Mori-senpai, what are you—"

"He loves you," he said, staring directly at me.

I jumped back as my eyes began to widen, and I shook the words out of my head. "Are you alright? Here, why don't I get you a glass of water," I said as quickly as I possibly could, making an attempt to stand up again.

The pressure he placed on my shoulder a second time had increased, and I was back to sitting down. He didn't release his hand as he bent over a little more. It seemed as though he wanted me to look directly at him and listen to him this time around, and he stared at me with the same stern expression. "Hiroshi," he began slowly, "You shouldn't deny it."

After just a bit of silence, I was forced to let Mori's words sink in. There was no escape this time, and I allowed my shoulders to sink down as he lifted his hand off of my shoulder.

"Takashi, can you help us?!" Hani called out. "We're trying to get this costume onto Tama-chan!"

Mori stared at me with his usual blank expression for a few more seconds before dashing off in response to Hani's request. As he disappeared through the door to the prep room and shut it behind him, I felt paralyzed for a moment.

I tried everything. I tried fidgeting with the tacky yellow fabric on my dress, ruffling my hair up, flipping through the pages in my sketchbook, and taking a few deep breaths all in an attempt to distract myself, but I found all of these things to be useless in a matter of minutes. Things began to click even as I exhaled deeply and shook my head side to side, and I plopped back down in my seat.

It was far too difficult to keep myself from asking questions. I wondered why that weird mix of anxiety and tranquility seemed to overtake me every time Kyouya looked at me. Whether it was with a grin on his face or with that slightly wide-eyed expression he made when he was caught off guard, it always gave me this sense of fulfillment that I couldn't quite explain. I always seemed to want him to be happy, and I felt weak in the knees on the occasions he'd pulled me closer to him.

As much as I wanted to believe that these were things that could happen in a regular friendship, it was getting more difficult by the second. Mori's statement gave me a sense of longing that I couldn't even describe, and I began to feel an overwhelming sense of mixed emotions washing over me as I took another deep breath.

One realization lead to another as I thought back. I remembered the day we met, when I became so nervous that I couldn't even move at one point. I remembered when he ran after me as the sun was setting so that he could ask me to be the host club's designer. I remembered the night of the almost-wedding in Spain, during the reception when he'd hugged me so tightly that I could just barely feel his heart beating.

I bent over in my seat and ruffled my hair again in a final attempt to get rid of the thoughts flooding my mind, but it was too late. By the time a few more seconds had passed, I'd come into realization about something that I'd probably known all along. There was no denying it now.

There was a person I'd fallen so hard for that I hadn't even realized: the person who made it possible for me to be part of the host club; the person who made my heart pound and my head spin; the person I'd fallen in love with a long time ago. The person whose name was Kyouya Ootori.

* * *

_**Author's Note**_

I've been waiting to write this scene in for so long, and I always thought that Mori deserved to be the one to make Hiroshi realize her feelings. My gosh, I can't believe the official series will be over soon-ish. But there are more after that since I'm splitting the epilogue in three! Anywho, again, all of your support means the world to me and I love each and every one of you. I'll see you in the next chapter!


	32. Star-Crossed

— _Chapter 32 _—

**_Star-Crossed_**

* * *

There were only a few more weeks left until the school clubs competed to see who was most creative in terms of theatre. The other clubs were also making a significant amount of progress; from time to time, I'd hear them rehearsing in the hallways and other rooms that were usually vacant. It was hilarious to see guys dress up in the costumes that they were clearly uncomfortable in, and I couldn't help but feel a little guilty knowing that the host club had a number of advantages. We still needed to work hard to memorize our lines, though.

All of us practiced lines on our own first before getting together in groups. Since we couldn't rehearse when customers were present, our time was a bit limited. But we were still a few steps ahead since we had costume arrangements planned out; everything fit perfectly, and I even got to try on my own dress a few times. It was a little tacky given that it needed to fit the time period that "Romeo and Juliet" was set in, but at least it was bearable.

After the final bell of the school day rang, I grabbed my bag and headed out with the script in my hand.

"Haply some poison yet doth hang on them, to make me die with a restorative," I muttered, not taking my eyes off of the packet as I continued to walk towards the club room. "With a restorative, with a restorative," I repeated, reading the line over again. "With a restor—_augh!_"

Someone bumped into me, and I landed on the ground with a loud thud. "Ah, sheesh," I muttered, feeling for my bag and reaching for it.

With a sigh, I stood back up again and continued to read out of a different act. Romeo and Juliet interacted in this one. "Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake," I recited with my eyes unmoving from the script once again.

"Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take," a familiar voice recited in reply.

I looked up. Kyouya stood in front of me with a script in his hands as well, but he wasn't reading it directly from the page. He must have memorized it already.

"There's something on your sleeve," he said, coming closer to me to brush it off.

"I just tripped," I replied quickly, backing up to pat the dirt away on my own. "No big deal."

He chuckled at the sight of my surprised expression. "Almost finished memorizing, I hope?" he asked.

"Hey, I had to design the costumes too, you know," I reminded him, shutting my packet to walk beside him. "Is yours comfortable enough?"

"It is," he replied as we continued towards the stairs. "Your talent is quite remarkable, Hiroshi."

"You kidding? You're the one with accounting skills," I laughed. "You've got some future ahead of you, Senpai."

He didn't speak up for a few seconds as we neared the club room. I wondered why he was acting so weird lately when it came to talking about the future, but I quickly remembered that he'd probably felt pressured.

"Your future looks rather exceptional as well," he replied.

"I just have a lot of work to do on my portfolio," I sighed. "But you probably have it harder, don't you? Business schools are hard to get into these days."

"That's an understatement," he said tiredly as we stood in front of the pair of double doors. "The application process for these honors programs are much more rigorous than I expected them to be."

"But I'm sure you'll make it into wherever you want to go," I smiled. "Don't be too hard on yourself; you'll do just fine."

Another bit of silence followed as he turned to look at me.

Suddenly, the doors burst open before either of us could reach for the knob. I was shoved into the opposite wall along with Kyouya, and Tamaki and the twins went leaping in the other direction. "I'll get you two!" Tamaki shouted, running after Hikaru and Kaoru down the hallway.

A few customers stepped out with curious expressions on their faces, and then they looked towards us. It was then that I realized I was still pushed up against Kyouya. I gulped as soon as the guests' eyes met mine, and I backed away immediately, straightening myself out.

"Good evening, ladies," Kyouya smiled politely as they blushed. "I apologize. Were those three causing a ruckus again? I'll be sure to give each of you a discount on our next set of picture books on their behalf," he said, pulling a number of magazines from his laptop case.

I shot him a weird look. Boy did this guy have a knack for advertising. How the heck did he manage to take so many posed pictures of them, anyways?

I heard the customers squeal excitedly after I stepped into the club room. "These are amazing! You never fail to impress us, Kyouya!" they giggled.

A bit of silence followed, and one of the customers spoke up with a curious tone of voice. "Kyouya?" she asked.

"Yes?" he replied politely.

"You dropped one of your pictures."

More silence. He chuckled. "Ah, I see."

"Is that a picture of Hiroshi-chan?" another customer wondered out loud. "Oh, she looks pretty in that one with all of the cherry blossoms! Were you going to make a picture book for her, too? That'd be neat."

I spun around swiftly and caught a glimpse of the photo on the ground. There I was, staring up at the night sky as the pink petals rained down on us. Part of our conversation from that night played over in my mind as Kyouya bent down to pick the picture up.

_"Did you just take a picture of me?"_

_"You should smile like that more often, Hiroshi."_

_"What makes you say that?"_

_"When you see someone you care about genuinely happy, it's a pleasant feeling, isn't it?"_

I felt paralyzed for just a moment yet again. Not that I doubted Mori, but now I was certain that he was telling the truth. I wasn't sure how I felt about such a big realization hitting me all at once. Things haven't been too different between me and Kyouya since then, but I was relieved. I still felt the feverish sensations and I still felt that mixed up emotion when Kyouya and I happened to catch glimpses at each other, but I was less frustrated.

Like before, it was embarrassing when Hikaru and Kaoru cracked their stupid jokes about us, of course. They sure weren't escaping my arm pinches.

Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru came gracefully strolling back over again to join the rest of us. "We're back, my princesses!" Tamaki smiled charmingly. He took one of them in his arms and did his classic chin-tilting move. "I apologize for making you wait," he said charmingly as she began to turn a shade of red.

The other girls squealed in delight as Tamaki walked her back into the club room and turned towards Hikaru and Kaoru. "Hikaru! Kaoru!" they began. "We're really looking forward to seeing you in your act!"

"Want us to give you a sample?" the pair asked in unison with friendly smiles.

All of them began to walk inside. "Please!" the customers giggled.

"And the weather will be really warm once we have to perform, so maybe things will be set up outside."

"That's wonderful!"

After Kyouya and I took another glimpse at each other, I looked away immediately and we walked inside after them.

The club meeting went well as always, but I spent more time finishing up my memorization of the script while I had my headphones in. I heard the occasional muffled yelp from Tamaki and a few squeals from the customers here and there, but it was fairly easy to concentrate. After reviewing the lines in my head over again, I read the rest of it. Such a depressing story; time was too cruel for them, wasn't it? If Romeo had only waited a little longer, the ending could have been entirely different.

It only took another few weeks for the snow to melt completely and for the weather to be hot. I was happy with the feeling of summer approaching, but the insects were what bothered me. Without a doubt, Tamaki and the others were very interested in how exactly mosquito nets worked, so I lent them a few for the time being.

I really wished Mom wouldn't have been overly enthusiastic about the fact that Kyouya was coming to rehearse lines with me. It was only what was necessary; we'd be performing tomorrow. He'd already been over a few times before, anyways: the day Tamaki paired us up for that baking competition, and the times he visited to drop off and pick up his kotatsu. To my dismay, apparently this time around was a bigger deal.

"We need to do one last sweep!" Mom smiled cheerily.

"We've already thoroughly cleaned everything twice over in the past three hours," I replied tiredly, plopping my head face-first into the table. "Mom, it really doesn't matter that much," I sighed.

She didn't reply for a little while, and I looked up curiously to see whether she was going to speak up or not. Instead of wearing the overly ecstatic grin she had on her face just a moment ago, she made her way over to sit next to me. She gently began to run her fingers through my hair until I looked directly at her.

"I'm sorry," she smiled sadly. "It's just been a pretty big change, seeing you blush and mutter to yourself over someone."

"I-I don't do that on too much of a regular basis," I laughed nervously. "I really don't, right?"

"Oh, but you do," she giggled. "You stare at that cell phone charm he got you all the time; you just don't realize it! It's just too adorable, Hiroshi."

"Gah, Mom!" I muttered, smacking my hand to my face.

My heart stopped when there was a loud buzzing sound, and with another tired sigh, I walked over. It wasn't long before I heard a series of soft knocks, and I pulled the door open.

Before I could even catch a glimpse of Kyouya, my mom jumped over with a cheery smile. "Come on in, Kyouya dear!" she giggled as we walked in to line up his shoes next to ours. "So nice to see you!"

"It's certainly nice to see you as well, Miss Katou," he smiled politely in reply.

"Hey, senpai," I said once I was finally able to fit a few words in.

He turned towards me briefly with a small grin on his face and ruffled my hair up. "Good evening."

What a weirdo, making such a casual gesture and then speaking formally. I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. With that, we strolled towards my room to rehearse.

Kyouya and I repetitively recited back and forth for quite a while as we sat directly across from each other. We quizzed each other as well by finishing each other's lines, and I had to admit that reading with such fluency was enjoyable and fun in itself. We could have performed on the spot; the timing was nearly perfect in terms of speech, and our expressions matched as well.

The cheesy lines took a little while for me to get over; I looked down to avoid unexpected reactions to the things Kyouya recited. Everything was going generally well once I was able to get into character, and gradually, I was able to meet his gaze without just viewing the lines as simple words. However, we hadn't gotten to one of the beginning acts yet.

"We should go over the fifth scene of the first act again," Kyouya said, turning back to another page in the packet.

"Ah, right."

"I suppose we'll begin here?" he asked, holding the packet up to me and pointing to a spot in the middle.

I nodded and found the spot in my own script to catch a glimpse of the first few words. I remembered that this was the scene I'd tried to read through after I got knocked over by someone that one day; I went over that part a million times. Piece of cake.

I cleared my throat before setting it down. I looked directly at him. "Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."

"Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take," he read fluently. There was something that suggested a more passionate tone of voice when he recited the next line, however, that made me begin to panic a bit. "Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged."

I had to collect myself for a brief moment before attempting to continue. "Th-then have my lips the sin that they took," I stammered, trying my hardest to keep a straight face.

But he didn't seem to be letting go of my little slip-up. I had just a bit of difficulty breathing once he looked at me the way he did. The passion in his eyes was so prominent that I wondered where on earth he got such acting skills. "Sin from thy lips? Oh trespass, sweetly urged."

I froze in a panic. Up until now, I was able to keep calm and fairly indifferent, but my heart began to beat a little more rapidly than before.

"Give me my sin again," he recited with a more quiet tone of voice that was nearly a whisper.

After a few long seconds of looking nervously at him with wide eyes, I peered down at the script again and saw something that I'd forgotten entirely at that moment. Romeo and Juliet are instructed to kiss.

With a deep breath, I looked up at Kyouya with the most carefree expression I could muster up. "Alright, so how's this fake kiss going to work?" I muttered. "I guess we could just lean in at a certain angle or something, right?"

"That probably wouldn't do the job if we want to win the competition," he said.

"Well then, what do you have in mind? I've got nothing," I replied, doing my best to ignore my anxiety.

A bit of silence followed. He only stared as I looked back at him in confusion, and I wondered what the heck was going on inside of his head.

He began to lean into me so that our faces were even closer together, and the corner of his mouth tugged up just a little. Suddenly, he placed one hand over my mouth and the other behind my head.

Before I could even squirm, his lips pressed against the other side of his hand. His eyes were half-lidded, and our foreheads and noses were pressed up against each others'.

"Mmh!" I exclaimed in a panic as my eyes began to widen even more. I couldn't move as the both of us began to breath through our noses.

He closed his eyes completely and tilted his head to the side just a little, and it wasn't long before I became exhausted from trying to pull away. Before I knew it, my eyes had become half-closed as well.

I heard the sound of muffled footsteps, and it was then that I was finally able to shove Kyouya's hand away. The door slowly opened as I caught my breath and quickly grabbed the script. I cleared my throat in an attempt to get my face back to its normal color.

I let out an awkward forced laugh. "Senpai, this line is hilarious!" I shouted. "How the heck is that even considered romantic?!" I managed to cough out.

Kyouya played along and forced a cheeky grin. "I was thinking the same thing!" he exclaimed, backing away from me to get a look at his own script.

My mom let out a giggle as she appeared in the doorway. "Well, you two seem to be having fun," she said. "Would you like some tea?"

"That'd be greatly appreciated, Miss Katou," Kyouya smiled politely as I continued to beam.

She nodded. "I'll get a pot ready, then," she said, shutting my door once again. I could hear her giggling excitedly again as she walked away.

I turned to Kyouya, narrowing my eyes. "Are you serious!" I huffed. "You didn't even need to go that far!"

He only chuckled in reply, which made me more frustrated than I already was.

I rolled my eyes and stood up. "I'll be helping my mom with the tea, then," I muttered irritably, taking several steps forward.

This sucked. Knowing the cause of these feverish sensations helped, but it was embarrassing to think of him catching me off guard and seeing me flustered. Although Mori-senpai already tried to clarify things, the only thing that made sense was the fact that I had feelings for Kyouya. I couldn't be certain that it was a two-way street. Kyouya was a host, after all. Hosts specialized in pleasing their customers with sweet-talk and romantic gestures. Aside from the sincere expressions, it sometimes seemed like he was just playing around.

Stepping towards the door, I grumbled to myself and put my hand forward to reach for the knob.

Kyouya stood up and took a few steps towards me. "Did I make you that upset?" he asked with more of a curious tone of voice.

Turning around, I looked at him with an exhausted expression. "Quit doing stuff like that," I said. "You think I can tell whether or not you're kidding? Just knock it off."

He stared at me with a dumbfounded expression on his face. I automatically felt a pang of guilt once I realized the tone of voice I'd just taken with him. "Sorry," I sighed. "I just—"

"You moron," he laughed.

Just as I looked back up at him, he slowly wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into an embrace. He rested his chin snugly between the side of my neck and my shoulder. It came as a surprise to me; the last time he'd done this was about a year ago before the night of the wedding in Spain... when he was sure that things were going to come to an end.

I gulped. "Senpai," I began nervously.

He held me a little more tightly than before and exhaled.

"Are you okay?" I asked. "If you're that tired, you could take a nap on the sofa or something."

He didn't let go for a good ten seconds, and I slowly brought my arms up to wrap them around him as well. I closed my eyes and exhaled the way he did, and I gently rested my head against the back of his.

"Just let me stay like this for a little while," he replied.

This overwhelming feeling washing over me as we embraced was too strong for me not to be afraid. I suppose that, in a way, we were like Romeo and Juliet. My heart gravitated towards him with a pull that I couldn't fathom, as Juliet had felt for Romeo. But they were star-crossed lovers... mere feelings weren't enough to keep them together.

One thing was for certain, after all: falling for someone so hard couldn't have been anything but trouble.


	33. Apprehension

_— Chapter 33 —_

**_Apprehension_**

* * *

"A cast party, Tama-chan?" Hani wondered out loud with a curious expression. A little smile formed on his face, and he looked up at Tamaki once again. "I think that'd be pretty neat!"

"It'll be held in the club room afterwards," Tamaki explained cheerily. "The other school clubs will be joining in as well!"

"And you decide to let us know about this on the day of our performance?" I asked, peering down at the gown I was wearing.

I allowed my hands to travel along the silky fabric on the dress. Although I'd already tried it on several times before, I was still amazed that the seamstresses had measured everything perfectly.

"Hiro-chan!" Hani beamed, looking up at me. "You look so pretty."

"Thanks, Hani-senpai," I smiled in reply.

We were getting ready to perform in an hour. Even though I'd already recited my lines fluently multiple times over, it was still a little nerve-wracking to think of being on a stage in front of everyone. Hopefully things would go smoothly and I wouldn't stumble on my words too many times.

Kyouya was acting a little strange today; he'd happen to take a few glances at me as usual, but there were no signs of even a slight grin. Unease washed over me after what had happened when we were rehearsing the day before, but I couldn't let emotions get in the way before we were going to be on stage.

It was a good thing we were performing in the evening; it was a little too warm in the daytime for everyone to be performing outside with bulky costumes on. The stage looked even prettier than I'd imagined. Despite the fact that Ouran didn't exactly specialize in the arts, the school clubs and the people in charge sure knew how to set things up. White lights were wrapped around the small pillars surrounding the platform.

The black magic club went first with their act. "Macbeth" was clearly perfect for this group of people in particular, and Nekozawa did a pretty good job of portraying the darker side of the main character. I was really glad that the violent scenes were more comical when performed by this group, and Kirimi certainly made a hilariously adorable witch. Surprisingly, even a group of people like this managed to make everyone laugh with their rendition of the play. As expected, they received a high score from the people judging: a nine out of ten.

The clubs who performed several acts from the plays like "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Much Ado About Nothing" received high scores as well, and although I still felt nervous, it was hard not to enjoy myself.

Shuffling behind the stage curtains was a little more nerve wracking than I thought it would be, but seeing the others get into character eased my anxiety. All of us gathered around in a huddle and Tamaki offered a few words of encouragement to all of us before we began to act out our first scene.

All of us were doing very well so far, and of course, all of the host club's customers cheered for us and appeared to be on the edge of their seats the entire time. They especially liked Tamaki's lines. The twins' cooperation with playing a single character was something else that induced wondrous looks from the audience, given that they even managed to work a few of their twincest acts into it.

During the marriage scene between Romeo and Juliet, I did my best to avoid Kyouya's gaze, as doing so would only make me mess up my lines. Focusing on the fact that Hani played an adorable little Friar seemed to help, and I was able to settle for a content smile. With the concept in mind that these were mere lines from a sheet of paper, I was able to carry through with the rest of it.

At this point in the play, Romeo had already committed suicide, and Juliet was getting ready to do the same.

"Haply some poison doth hang on them, to make die with a restorative," I recited with a shaky voice and a choked up expression on my face.

I leaned in, placed my hand over Kyouya's cheek, and positioned my face closely to the other side of it. I could still feel my face beginning to heat up even though we were only leaning in at a certain angle. It didn't help that he began to open his eyes just slightly. Raising an eyebrow, I nearly shut his eyes for him, but I settled for a light sigh and pretended to plunge the cardboard dagger into my chest.

Now came a part that I hadn't quite braced myself for: Juliet needed to fall on top of Romeo just shortly before the others came rushing in, and I did my best not to put one-hundred percent of my weight on Kyouya. Unfortunately, my head was rested on his chest in a way that allowed the audience to see my face, so I had to do everything in my power not to change my expression.

Mori cleared his throat, and the girls in the audience gazed at him in anticipation with love-struck expressions. "For there was never a story of more woe," Mori recited in his usual deep tone of voice, "Than this... of Juliet and her Romeo."

Ending our performance there probably would have earned us a slightly lower score, so we added just a few more personal touches to it.

"_Waaaaaaah!_ Poor Juliet-chan and Romeo-chan!" Hani cried out. All of the high-pitched sobbing in the audience gave away that the customers could see his little pout through the big fake moustache he'd been wearing. Acting as a ridiculously adorable Friar really wasn't a bad idea at all. "They'll forever eat strawberry pie thither in Heaven, Montague-kun," he sighed.

After many more "aw"s from the audience, Tamaki leapt out onto the stage. According to what he told us earlier, he'd be throwing roses out into the audience. More applause erupted from everyone as he bowed and thanked them.

I opened my eyes and slowly began to stand up alongside Kyouya, and we briefly dusted ourselves off before the final results were announced. The judge in front of us allowed a smile to cross her lips, and all performers were gathered on the small stage together. Her boyish hairstyle and smug expression seemed a little too familiar, but it was only when she spoke that I'd realized who she was.

She was no other than Benibara Amakusa, the leader of the Zuka Club who was likely back for revenge. "All of you are certainly fine young students. Not necessarily to the point of being cut out for St. Lobelia Academy, but decent," she said. She continued after clearing her throat. "Your methods of acting have proven to be quite unique, however, and it was difficult to choose only three groups to be winners."

I sighed. There was no way we'd win if she was the main judge. How the heck did she even work her way into the competition, anyways?

"The award for third place goes to the baseball team," she announced. "For a group of people who likely don't partake in these kinds of activities on a regular basis, their rendition of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' wasn't far from impressive."

All of us cheered for them as they stepped forward to claim their prize. "Was that a back-handed compliment?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked simultaneously as they clapped.

"Second place goes to the black magic club for acting out several scenes of 'Macbeth.' They've portrayed the characters reasonably well," Benio said.

Everyone cheered once again as Nekozawa stepped forward to claim the prize for his club, and he took a bow as Benio began to speak up again. "It was especially difficult to choose a first place winner," she began in an even less friendly tone of voice. "But we've come to an agreement that the award rightfully belongs to a particular club that often takes pride in shenanigans."

She cleared her throat and looked back up at us as she forced a cheeky smile. "Ahem, Ouran Academy's host club."

A roar erupted from the audience, and the other school clubs turned to us with sad smiles on their faces as they gave us pats on the back and congratulated us. But the disappointed looks on their faces didn't last too long; they were happy to hear that Tamaki had arranged a party for everyone in the club room, and they were on their way to the south wing's back entrance.

Just as I was about to step forward to join them, a hand had grabbed my shoulder and I'd been spun around. Benio's face was only inches away from mine within seconds, and she tilted my chin up.

"My, my," she chuckled as my eyes began to widen. "It appears that you and Haruhi possess talent in the acting world after all."

I gulped and turned my head to the side to see that the other two in her trio, Suzuran and Hinagiku, had Haruhi's arms locked in theirs. "Uh, we're sorry, but…" I began as Haruhi and I eyed each other nervously.

Tamaki suddenly spun around and dashed towards us as the others lead the way for the rest of the classes. He pulled us away abruptly, holding Haruhi closely and dragging me by my shoulder with his other hand. "I'm afraid my little girls must be leaving shortly."

After the three had taken their blazers off to reveal more of their school uniforms, they let out a sigh. "Well, it's certainly been an interesting evening," Benio said. "We'll be leaving shortly as well. Adieu, my fair maidens, but keep in mind that this won't be the last you hear of us."

The three of them began to disappear from view, and Haruhi turned to Tamaki with a bit of nervous laughter. "I wasn't gonna let them take us or anything," she said.

Tamaki's eyes widened just slightly at the sight of Haruhi's expression, and then he settled for a cheeky grin as he ruffled her hair. At that moment, I'd visualized the way Kyouya would ruffle my hair up.

Looking down, I began to walk towards the double doors along with the other two. Tamaki seemed to have noticed the weird look on my face as we continued to stroll, however. "Is everything alright, Hiroshi?" he asked. "Kyouya's been acting weird today, huh?"

I cleared my throat and looked up. "Ah, he's probably just tired," I replied.

I wanted to believe the words that had come out of my own mouth, but it was too difficult for me. Kyouya hadn't worn that same blank expression on his face since the day before he'd nearly been wed.

As we continued to walk, my anxiety worsened by the minute. Even the smiles on Tamaki's and Haruhi's faces couldn't do so much as distract me.

It wasn't too long before we reached the club room, and by the time we walked in, everyone was already laughing and chatting excitedly about how it was nearly the end of the school year. The host club's guests rushed up to us immediately after realizing we'd entered the room.

"You guys were amazing!" they practically squealed. "Gosh, you must have worked hard to memorize everything."

"Thank you, princesses," Tamaki smiled charmingly in reply, handing a rose to each of them and making them sigh dreamily.

The party went on for a good two hours; everyone chatted and laughed nonstop while they helped themselves to a bit of food. If Kyouya hadn't been acting strangely, I would have been completely at ease.

Everyone who was about to head home stopped by to thank Tamaki and tell him that he didn't need to go through the trouble of planning such a thing. But he merely replied with a smile and said that they deserved it for all of their hard work.

Suddenly, a darker aura seemed to be making its way in our direction. We saw a cloaked figure walking towards us followed by a few others who were dressed in black Victorian-style clothing, and there was no doubt it was the black magic club. "You were quite amazing," Nekozawa said with his usual slightly creepy smile. He held up his Bellzenef doll and waved it around lightly. "Not bad at all. I'm very impressed with your designing abilities as well, Hiroshi."

"Ah, thanks, Nekozawa-senpai," I laughed nervously.

He grinned in reply. "By chance, would you care to design for our club as well?"

"Sorry, no can do!" Hikaru and Kaoru shouted simultaneously, grabbing each of my arms and pulling me towards them.

Kirimi slowly removed her hood and looked up at me with the huge blue eyes I hadn't seen in so long. "Silly brother," she said. "Mommy's happy in the host club, can't you see?"

I jumped a little at the fact that she still referred to me as a parental figure, but I laughed right afterwards. "You did very well today, Kirimi," I smiled, bending down to her level.

She giggled and reached up to give my cheek a pinch. "Where's daddy?" she asked.

"Uh," I gulped.

Nekozawa took Kirimi's hand and looked down at her. "Well, we must get going, then."

After they'd said their goodbyes to us, the hosts began to tidy up a bit. Hani insisted on eating the leftover cake so that it wouldn't go to waste, and the others adjusted the furniture just slightly so that it was perfectly in place.

As we neared finishing up and Hani happily put the last piece of cake into a container, I took a glimpse at one of the double doors that was cracked open just slightly. I wondered if Kyouya had already left.

I walked over to the pair of doors and cautiously pushed the one that was slightly ajar. Apart from the club room, all of the lights had been turned off in the building, and the shadow of Kyouya's silhouette was visible against the light of the moon.

Despite the beauty of the scene, I couldn't help but feel afraid to take a step towards him. Was there something I'd done to make him feel it necessary to act this way?

I slowly paced forward, trying to be as discreet as I could, but I was sure that even the faint sound of my footsteps could be heard from where he was standing.

I kept my gaze on the moon once I was standing beside him. Wishing for him to speak first, I held my tongue and didn't make a sarcastic remark about how "awfully cheery" he's been all day.

After a few long seconds of silence, he cleared his throat. "Are you in need of my assistance?" he asked.

I raised an eyebrow at his hard facial expression. "You're worrying me a little," I replied.

"I'm not quite sure I understand what you're talking about," he continued in a tone similar to the business-like one he'd used with his father.

Slowly turning my head back to the moon, I let out a quiet sigh. "It just seems like you're more tense than usual. Does it have to do with the school fair? We have more time to work things through with the arrangements. It's not wrong to ask for help sometimes, you know."

After another bit of silence, he cocked his head slightly to look towards me. As much as I wanted to keep my head forward, it was difficult for me not to stare back. The expression he wore on his face at that moment made my heart drop; it was one I'd never seen before.

For a moment, it seemed as though he'd only be able to look at me once more before one of us vanished permanently. Even with his lips pressed firmly into a line, the sadness in his eyes seemed to be so prominent.

My heartbeat began to quicken. What on earth was going on?

Just as I'd opened my mouth slightly, he cleared his throat again and allowed his expression to change back into a more rigid one. "I suppose I'll need to tell you now so that all of you can make the necessary preparations for the future of the host club."

I gulped as my head turned back towards him. "What are you talking about?" I asked quietly.

His jaw was clenched just slightly as he continued to face forward, but he managed to compose himself and turned towards me slowly with a rigid expression that put up a wall of stone between us.

An eternity of silence passed as I waited. I hoped that the news wasn't something I feared it would be, and my heartbeat began to quicken at an even faster rate. "Kyouya-senpai?" I asked a little more shakily than I intended.

A few more long seconds of silence ensued, and he worded things so concisely that I wasn't able to fully understand until a minute afterwards.

"I'll be leaving for the United States the day after the festival," he said.

He cleared his throat once more, and then he continued. "From that day forward, there will be no further contact between you and I."

* * *

_**Author's Note**_

PLEASE DON'T KILL ME, OKAY. I'mma cry if you do. Just relax, dears; I've already given you a general idea of how things turn out several times in the past. The next chapter will likely take a while as well, so thank you so much in advance for being incredibly patient. Thank you so much for reading! I love you all very very much. Please don't hate me too much.


	34. Desolate

_— Chapter 34 —_

**_Desolate_**

* * *

The warm weather was undoubtedly perfect for the school fair taking place in a few hours. Vast numbers of the students' relatives, close friends, and members of the school board were already beginning to arrive, and Ouran Academy was even more alluring than usual with elegant adornments being displayed all throughout the school grounds.

Hikaru drove the carriage forward, causing a gentle breeze to blow through our hair. Despite the unease within me, the sound of the others' laughter and the clicking of the horses' feet was able to relieve a bit of the tension.

We passed through the school's walkways as several guests stopped to stare in awe at the hosts. Tamaki blew a few kisses to them, which, in itself, made them starry-eyed as we passed by.

"Oh wow, it's right out of a fairytale!"

"How romantic!"

Tamaki smiled charmingly for them and waved once more. "Why thank you, princesses!"

"Maybe you pretty ladies can have a carriage ride later!" Hani added in with a sweet giggle.

As Mori praised Hikaru about his ability to control the horses' reins so well, I closed my eyes and allowed the warm breeze to caress my face. My worries seemed to be temporarily hidden from my mentality as to what would happen after the fair. Kyouya wasn't on the carriage with us at the moment, so luckily, it was easier for me to relax a bit.

"We're pretty excited to see how your designs look on us, Hiroshi," Kaoru smiled as my eyes slowly opened back up.

"Yeah," his twin replied amidst lifting the reigns again. "I'm sure they'll be great as usual."

I smiled in reply. "Thanks, you guys. I'm sure you'll look great in them, too."

The orchestra in front of the north wing began to play, and classical music filled the air as the fair's opening ceremony began. Once the horses slowed to a stop, we were able to get a closer look at what the rest of our classmates were doing. Several of them were ballroom dancing in pairs, which was quite adorable to watch.

Hani rested his head on Haruhi's arm and gave Usa-chan a squeeze before speaking up. "So is Kyou-chan still working things through with the arrangements of the club room?"

At the mentioning of his name, I could sense the others tense up momentarily along with myself, but it wasn't long before Tamaki flashed another cheeky smile towards us. "Ah, Kyouya, always working too hard! Maybe we should surprise him with a kotatsu party. What do you guys think?"

"Missing your common sense again, Boss," the twins said simultaneously, bopping their fists on the top of his head after we'd of gotten off of the carriage.

Tamaki chuckled and smacked their hands away. "Nonsense!" he exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Haruhi's shoulder. "Haruhi agrees with me! Don't you, Haruhi?" he asked, looking at my disheveled friend with his infamous puppy eyes.

Haruhi stammered on a few syllables before pinching his hand and looking away. "Let's go and help Kyouya-senpai with the club room decorations."

Although it was obvious that the school grounds as a whole would be busier than usual, the hallways of the south wing were particularly busy. Several fancy food carts with trays of gourmet appetizers and students dressed in their best attire were moving up and down each level of the building, and family members and school board members alike engaged in lively conversation.

Through the hustle and bustle, all of us managed to stay together as we made our way towards a separate, bigger club room. Once Tamaki had pushed open the double doors enthusiastically, my eyes widened at the beauty; I'd of course seen the regular club room decorated with the themes of different eras and geographic locations, but when they'd been given even more space to work with, the extravagance was astounding. In terms of decision-making for the intricate details, I'd say the hosts had really outdone themselves.

Tilting my head to the side just slightly, I caught sight of Kyouya, whose back had been facing us. He was still in his school uniform just like the rest of the hosts.

Continuing to hold the phone to the side of his face, he went back and forth between motioning towards the large statue fountain and the rolling carts of miniature gourmet delicacies.

More small groups of people walked through the doorways and were scattered throughout the room as the hosts took turns changing into the formal attire I'd designed for them. One by one, they'd gone into the prep room and walked out again several minutes later, dressed in their black button-ups and dress pants. Their cream-colored formal vests and red string-like bowties matched nicely, as I'd imagined.

I was already dressed at that point. I was originally dreading the decision between wearing the tacky yellow school uniform or one of my sundresses; neither seemed fitting for the occasion in the slightest. Fortunately, the twins' mom was kind enough to pull out one of her more simple designs from her most recent spring collection for me. With a smile, she told me that I deserved to wear a special design once in a while as well, and I thanked her profusely after she insisted that I accept it.

In turn, as I peered down at the lacey cream-colored fabric on my short dress, I couldn't help but smile just a little. It matched the shade of the hosts' vests almost perfectly, and, dare I say it, the bit of eyeliner I applied on myself didn't look half bad.

"You sure know how to dress a host, Hiroshi," Haruhi said with a little smile, tugging the loops of her red bow slightly into place.

"Ah, thank you," I laughed half-heartedly. "I hoped that the colors would coordinate in real life as much as they did on paper."

"Our guests are waiting," Tamaki began, motioning to all of the people around us. "Now remember, all of you, we need to be even more charming than usual for the next two days. Let's show our honored guests the time of their lives, shall we?"

They scattered to find visitors that they could socialize with. Given that they were a host club, parents and members of the school board were bound to be skeptical, but the hosts seemed to be determined to prove them wrong. And they did just that; in a matter of minutes, even parents of the guests began to take a liking to such a concept.

"Isn't it wonderful, mother?" one guest asked excitedly. "This is the host club I've been telling you so much about! What do you think of it?"

The older lady beside her only raised an eyebrow in reply. "I cannot say for certain that I approve of this," she began, peering down and placing a hand over her mouth. "Honestly, I think that these young men just enjoy being fawned over."

Tamaki rushed over to the pair immediately and leaned in towards her with a genuine concern in his eyes. He bowed just slightly and placed a hand over his chest. "You are absolutely correct, Madame," he began, taking one of her hands in his and causing her to blush wildly. "We are such shameless selfish creatures; all of this is mere pretense. For spending time with lovely young ladies such as yourself... it is a weakness. Forgive me."

"Oh," she giggled shyly in reply. I could almost see hearts beginning to form in her eyes. "What an enchanting club!"

"I told you, mother!"

"You're too kind. Both of you," Tamaki smiled in reply.

I chuckled in amusement as Haruhi began to roll her eyes; I wanted to see how the others planned on swaying the general public, and I moved a little closer to Mori and Hani.

The small blond puffed his cheeks up and looked up so that Mori's eyes were on his, and Mori eyed his little companion with an odd expression before bending down to his level. People began to stare intently as he reached up towards the collar of Hani's vest.

"Your buttons are mismatched, Mitsukuni. Allow me," he muttered deeply, swiftly fixing the issue as even more guests became starry-eyed.

Hani then proceeded to thank him in such an adorable childlike manner that it made the guests squeal. "How cute!" they sighed dreamily. "They must be brothers... the older one is so thoughtful."

Hikaru's and Kaoru's method of pleasing their guests strayed from the norm, which was definitely more appropriate for the situation. I could help but feel relieved; twincest acts were mostly only okay for regular guests and would drive the older visitors further into skepticism. Instead, they decided to pull the pity card this time around and spoke about how they'd grown up in such a lonesome way. I had to admit that it wasn't far from clever; it certainly yielded lots of success.

I didn't pay much attention to Kyouya's friendly conversation with the school board about business tactics and unique characteristics of the club. Keeping my gaze away from that general area, I walked back over to Haruhi as she made her way towards the other food carts. "Need some help? I can wheel one of these around for you," I said, grabbing a hold the cart next to the one she'd taken.

Haruhi nodded with a slight smile. "Thanks, Hiroshi," she replied before rolling her own cart towards another lady at one table. She smiled cheerily despite the fact that this visitor in particular just seemed to be genuinely uninterested; I guess being a host at events like these required them to treat even the most snobby guests cordially.

This guest certainly didn't look like she was from Japan. She wore an untraditional silky gown, and her brownish blond tresses seemed to fall perfectly across her shoulders. She crossed her long, thin legs and rested a golden pair of opera glasses at her side. It was then that I could see that her eye color was piercing shade of blue, and she tilted her head to stare at Haruhi intently.

I wasn't sure if it involved the general tension in the air that day, but something seemed very strange about the way she looked at Haruhi. It bothered me enough for my focus on the cart to dwindle, and I wound up bumping into someone else with it.

Gasping lightly and jumping a little, I looked up to see that it was indeed an important member of the school board. "I'm very sorry!" I exclaimed, bowing deeply before even taking notice of his facial features.

Looking back up to see that he was dressed in a suit that was completely white, I examined it quickly to make sure that I hadn't soiled it in any way. The last thing I needed was a sticky situation with yet another person of high social standing. "Sir, are you alright?" I asked quickly, finally shifting my attention towards his face with an expression of concern.

After about two seconds, he turned his kind-looking face towards me with a smile that looked vaguely familiar. "It's quite alright, my dear," he said. "If you don't mind my asking, are you Hiroshi Katou?"

My eyes widened and I nodded shyly once I'd realized that this was Tamaki's father.

"Yes," I replied with the friendliest smile I could muster up.

"Why, what a lovely designer they've picked for the host club," he said, taking my hand in his just as Tamaki had done with his first two visitors.

"Uh," I muttered awkwardly with a nervous expression once I pulled away as politely as possible. "Thank you very much for everything, Suoh-sama," I replied.

Meeting him had reminded me of the fact that money certainly didn't grow on trees, and neither did the value of my scholarship. This was the chairman of Ouran Academy's entire school board; I was only able to attend Ouran because he was willing to contribute the funds. The same applied to Haruhi, and an enormous amount of gratitude washed over me as I thought about the large expenses of an education at such a prestigious academy.

He let out a friendly laugh. "You use too much of a formal honorific! Please, call me uncle," he said, holding out a rose. "I suggested the same to your friend; you're familiar with Haruhi Fujioka, are you not?"

This was beginning to creep me out just a little; I could definitely see where Tamaki got his qualities from. He continued when I accepted the rose and nodded in response to his question. "And regarding your scholarship, you are clearly deserving of it," he smiled. "Your scores and your essay impressed me more than I'd ever expected. I understand that you plan on working for the Hitachiin Design Incorporation sometime in the future?"

I nodded. "That's correct; I'm very much looking forward to it."

"Are you trying to take my other little girl away too, father?!" Tamaki panicked, jumping over in our direction. "First you take my dear favorite Haruhi away, and now—"

"It was certainly a pleasure meeting you!" his father cut in with a cheeky smile, shoving a hand in his son's face as the flamboyant blond dry-sobbed.

"Are you crazy?!" Tamaki shouted in the same tone of voice he used to yell at the twins, jumping up and down while he was at it. "Really, you allow my daughters to call you uncle when you don't even allow me to call you by such a familiar term? Remove your hands at once, please!"

In the midst of Tamaki's ranting, I let out a sigh and my eyes wandered to where Kyouya was standing. His posture seemed a little more stiff than it had been prior to this point in time, and once I'd shifted my gaze, the reason for this became clear. His own father was standing right in front of him with an expression that was more icy than I'd ever seen.

Before I could even move, he'd raised his arm and given Kyouya a hard slap across the face that resounded in the air.

My heart plummeted into my stomach once my eyes had widened again, and a wave of silence fell across the entire room.

"Kyouya-senpai," I barely managed to breathe out.

I could feel a choked-up sensation beginning to overtake my throat once he'd bent down on his knees to pick up his glasses.

"I will ask you once again; is this how my son wastes his time?" his father began harshly, not even turning to look at Kyouya. "You are truly a disgrace to the Ootori family name."

Taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm down, I was able to restrain myself from walking over to him to see if he was alright. It wouldn't help; nothing would help. I had a choice between further severing whatever friendship we had left and doing nothing, and I decided that the latter was better.

I walked back over to the cart and kept my gaze on it as the other hosts asking him if he was okay. "It's alright," I he replied. "It's not like I haven't been expecting this, anyways."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Kyouya take a brief glance in my direction. I couldn't bring myself to look up until he'd walked away.

"But..." Tamaki began quietly.

I turned to look at him, and he continued with a tone of voice and facial expression more sorrowful than I thought he was capable of having. "Because of... the host club?"

The rest of the hosts and I stared at him in dejection as his father walked slowly over to him with a more stern expression. "Whims come with a price, Tamaki. Believe me; they do not come cheaply for people like us."

"Haruhi!" an excited guest called out.

"Ah, coming," Haruhi replied, quickly changing her expression of shock to a warm smile once she'd reach the group of guests. "Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to spend time with us today!" she beamed.

Tamaki slowly turned his head in her direction with a look on his face that had split my own heart in two. In being able to grasp the situation a little more clearly, I realized that one thing was certain: the host club wasn't going to last forever. It was never meant to last forever; I was foolish for believing that it would.

"Accept it. Life is hard. You must grow up and realize that dreaming only postpones the inevitable. Start thinking about the future, son," Tamaki's father continued. "If you want to become head of the Suoh family, there's a hard road ahead of you. Think carefully about the choices you make; I advise you to decide what you want now before it's too late."

The double doors creaked open once more, and both Tamaki and his father turned to face in that direction. "Look sharp now," Suoh-san muttered quietly. "Your grandmother is here."

A woman dressed in a traditional kimono with her gray hair tied neatly in a bun had stepped through the double doors, and two people dressed in dark formal attire followed close behind her. She kept her gaze slightly downward with a hard expression on her face.

Despite this, Tamaki put on a huge smile and ran right over to her. "Grandmother!" he exclaimed happily. "I'm so glad you could come!"

It warmed my heart a little to such a reaction, and Haruhi walked back over to us with a smile on her face as well. "Aw, that's Tamaki-senpai's grandmother, isn't it?"

"Yeah, according to his dad," I replied, watching the two intently. "That's so sweet."

Haruhi and I shifted our attention to the others, and the smiles and warmth dwindled yet again to see that their expressions had turned to ones of disgust. Hani practically buried his face into the top of Usa-chan's head as his face darkened as well. "I hate that woman," he murmured lowly.

As I turned to look in their direction, I could see that Tamaki was doing everything he could to accommodate her. "Please come in. Take a seat," he continued politely.

The old woman continued to walk past her own grandson without doing so much as glancing at him. "Don't patronize me," she muttered. "Filthy child."

A mix of sadness and confusion overtook me, and Haruhi's eyes widened at the cruel words that had escaped from the woman's mouth. Despite her coldness, Tamaki still stood with a bright smile on his face, and it surprised me that he was able to withstand such harshness. Then again, Kyouya and his father seemed to have a similar relationship. It saddened me to think that maybe this was typical.

"Lady Éclair, come here for a moment, please," she called out as Tamaki turned to face in the same direction.

The woman she'd called for had begun to step towards them. With graceful strides and a haughty expression on her face, she strolled over to us as she twirled her purple-lensed opera glasses behind her back. I felt a little irritated upon seeing that this was the girl who had been staring at Haruhi in such a weird way earlier.

"Hey, I was just..." Haruhi muttered before the twins turned in her direction.

Tamaki's grandmother continued. "For the remainder of the day, you will be Lady Éclair's personal escort."

I narrowed my eyes at the young woman once she'd leaned upwards to stare at Tamaki the same way she'd done with Haruhi. Something about this lady stirred up an abnormally amount of unease in me.

Once the bitter old woman had finally shifted her gaze upward, she scolded her grandson for his lack of action, and he quickly complied with a smile that seemed so genuine. The rest of us could tell that it was feigned. "Very well, grandmother," he began. "I will do everything in my power to ensure her happiness, just as you wish." Placing a gentle hand on Éclair's back, he guided her forward. "Come, my princess. Let us be off."

After he and Haruhi exchanged a small glance, he tried to force away the bit of dejection in his expression and Haruhi continued to push her own food cart in the opposite direction. Once they'd left the room, the tension and silence seemed greater than ever before, and the rest of us slowly made our way over to where Kyouya had been sitting with his laptop. As though he could read our minds, he'd immediately researched the information we were curious about at the moment.

"Éclair, right? Or something like that," Hikaru muttered.

Kaoru's pensive expression matched that of his twin. "Yeah, who is she to Tamaki-senpai? That's the mystery."

"She's the youngest daughter of the renowned French Tonerre family," Kyouya replied. The sound of his typing didn't slow or quiet down in the slightest, and he continued. "They descend from royalty; the family has quite a history. Their wealth is somewhat a legend among financial heavyweights, and in fact, just being associated with them makes you part of a very elite group."

The rest of us turned our attention to him as he elaborated. "They also own Grand Tonnerre, a firm that's been buying up a lot of businesses in Japan lately," he explained. "However, that still doesn't explain why she's come to visit Tamaki."

There was a general lack of knowledge of the subject at that point, and it seemed to make detriments our performance with the visitors just slightly. A mixed up word here, a small slip-up there. Although they managed to cover it up and smooth things over right after, there was still a noticeable difference to me.

Kyouya only continued to calculate host club expenditures as the hours passed without a sign of Tamaki. I knew that his grandmother instructed him to spend the rest of the day with her, but I wasn't sure about the specific time frame.

The hosts figured they'd change into their next set of clothing: black vests, white blazers with long coattails, gray dress pants, and a red tie to top it off for a pop of color. I didn't need to do so; the cream-colored dress matched just as nicely, and I wasn't a host, anyways.

Haruhi was the only one who hadn't arrived yet, so I figured I'd head to the prep room to make sure that everything was alright. Hoping that a bit of time away from the noisy bustle would allow me to breathe more easily, I headed all the way outside and began to walk towards the entrance of the south wing.

The clock tower began to chime. A flock of white birds flew upwards and past it as I stopped in my tracks, and I looked up towards them. Bathing in the sunlight, I took a deep breath of fresh air and closed my eyes. In such a circumstance, I couldn't help but feel envious of their capability to fly free. If only the hosts possessed this freedom as opposed to the pressures of being part of such a wealthy group of individuals.

Unfortunately, such an unrealistic concept was only a form of feigned self-comfort. I was finally able to recall what Kyouya said to me at his family's water park-like facility well over a year ago. Although I may have been too blind and unsuspecting to grasp his words at the time, he was right; being wealthy certainly did have its disadvantages.

Opening my eyes back up slowly, I continued through the double doors of the south wing and up the flight of red-carpeted stairs. Although not lit up, the small glass pieces of the chandelier reflected the sun's light, and it added onto the overall glow of the building's interior. It was a shame that my surroundings only brought feelings of sad nostalgia as opposed to positive ones.

I'd finally reached the entrance to the club room. Looking slightly upwards and to my right, I was able to see the black sign that read "Music Room 3" once more, and I froze for a moment. I was alone, unknowing of what lied beyond the double doors for the first time in so long, except in terms of what I would feel upon entering it.

I pushed the two of them open to see that it was empty, as I'd expected. Although there was a certain beauty to the stillness of my surroundings as sunlight poured in through these windows as well, lonesomeness began to wash over me. I was going to miss the bright light flashing in my eyes; I would make every attempt to relive the odd feeling of rose petals being blown towards me. I would miss walking in and knowing that every one of the hosts were waiting on the other side to welcome whoever had stepped through. It was likely—no, it was certain—that it was something I'd never experience again.

Reminding myself of our predicament, I cleared my throat and straightened out my back. Sentiments only made things more complicated at that point; I needed to do my best not to let them influence me too much even though the restraint was a little painful. Making a rigid facial expression in an attempt to get rid of such thoughts, I continued forward towards the prep room.

"Haruhi, are you in there?" I called out, knocking on on of the doors in front of me.

After a few seconds, I heard a pair of footsteps softly making their way closer to the other side of the doors. "Yeah, is that you, Hiroshi?" she asked, slowly opening the door I'd knocked on and only peeking her head out slightly. "I'm sorry, are the others waiting for me? I was just having a bit of trouble with the buttons."

"Oh, alright, I can help," I replied once she allowed me to walk into the prep room.

I shut the door behind me and made my way over to where she stood to straighten her collar out and alter her red tie just a little.

"Thanks," she said, giving her tie one last tug and peering downwards for a bit.

Slowly, I brought my hand up to her shoulder, and she looked back up at me with a doubtful expression that matched mine. "Do you need to talk about something?"

Haruhi looked at me for a few more long seconds before letting out a short sigh and closing her eyes. "I should probably be asking you that question," she said. "You know... if you really care about Kyouya-senpai so much, maybe you need to tell him before he leaves."

I allowed my hand to drop after a few long seconds, and my gaze fell as Haruhi's face tilted right back up to look at me. "It's not that simple," I replied quietly, doing my best to maintain a carefree expression.

The sound of the club room's double doors opening and closing was audible through those of the prep room, and our attention shifted in that direction. Almost immediately after we stepped forward with the assumption that it was another one of the hosts, however, we were stopped in our tracks; it seemed that this wasn't the case.

"In here?" a familiar voice asked condescendingly.

"Well, it is a music room, after all," Tamaki replied.

Once we were certain that it was Éclair who he'd brought into the club room, we remained silent and unmoving until soft key strokes began to come from the grand piano. This melody became a more complex and beautiful one, and I was under the impression that she'd asked him to play for her as a form of entertainment. Haruhi stepped closer and rested her back against the door just a little too hard so that it made a small click, and we looked at each other with wide eyes for a split second before she stood up straight again.

Their voices were still audible enough so that we make out what they were saying.

"So this is the room where you and that precious little host club of yours hold court, is it?" Éclair asked as Tamaki continued to play. "I must admit, it was quite impressive seeing all of you in action earlier. You must be very close."

"Naturally," Tamaki replied. "You know what they say; the family that plays together stays together."

"Family?" she asked with a tone of voice that was both amused and disdainful. I peered over at Haruhi with unease as she continued. "What a sentimental notion; I believe that, here in Japan, they refer to that as playing house."

He didn't reply for a short while, given that he seemed to be pouring passion into one of the downward chromatic scale runs along the keys, and Éclair broke the silence once more. "You're so whimsical, Tamaki," she said with tone of seemingly feigned admiration.

She proceeded in informing him of her thoughts. "I bet they fall all over themselves trying to keep up with you. Especially that one with the glasses," she began with a sneer. "The one that got slapped by his father."

A wave of anger had hit me so hard at that point that I paced quickly towards the club room before Haruhi could try to stop me. Turning the knobs quickly and pushing open the double doors to look at both Tamaki and that contemptuous woman, I narrowed my eyes. I was disgusted to no end with the way she spoke about people like they were mere chess pieces. Haruhi slowly walked out from the prep room behind me as I shot a stern look of disapproval in Éclair's direction, and I stormed out of music room three altogether, hoping that Haruhi would return soon as well.

Before stepping back into the club where the main event was being held, I took a deep breath and did my best to hide my furious expression. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to work; the moment Hikaru and Kaoru peered in my direction, they began to eye me suspiciously.

"What's with the angry face?" the two asked simultaneously, reaching up to poke my cheeks in an attempt to get rid of it.

This was another first. The twins' actions would have annoyed me in any other circumstance, but I couldn't bring myself to do so much as look in their direction. I kept my gaze downward and pressed my lips together tightly, turning away in order to hold in my anger in for a little longer.

To distract myself, I spent the next few hours pushing the food cart around until the sun began to set, and its orange glow became increasingly saturated as guests and visitors left for the day. Haruhi had already returned long before we began to tidy things up. Tamaki was still absent, of course, and Kyouya claimed to have left the room momentarily to escort his father outside. With the two of them missing at the same time, the emptiness had only been more prominent.

Haruhi was the one to break the silence as she turned towards the rest of us. "Hey," she began as an expression of concern overtook her face. "Tamaki-senpai's grandmother was being really harsh to him earlier. Is there a reason for that?"

A long silence ensued before Hani looked up nervously towards Mori, as the twins did with each other. Hikaru let out a sigh. "Well, everyone else knows about it."

Kaoru continued as I peered over at him in confusion. "You see," he began quietly, "Tamaki-senpai is illegitimate."

We listened intently as Hikaru proceeded to tell more of the story. "Twenty-some-odd years ago, the Suoh family patriarch died at a young age. For political reasons, Chairman Yuzuru was rushed into a marriage with a woman of his mother's choosing; that's how he became head of the family. But several years later, he fell passionately in love with a woman he met in Paris."

Hani picked up with a slightly more cheery tone of voice. "And after that, Tama-chan was born," he smiled.

"And so, Chairman Yuzuru decided he'd leave his wife in order to marry Tamaki-senpai's mother instead. His mother objected, of course, but Boss's mother was too ill at the time to care for her son in Japan, and she raised him in France until he was fourteen. His childhood seemed to have been a happy one, but as time wore on, his mother's side of the family business went belly-up. When they were forced into debt, Senpai's grandmother worried that there wouldn't be an heir to carry on the family name, so she made a proposal.

"She told Boss's mother that she'd provide her with means to live comfortably for the rest of her days, so long as Tamaki-senpai came to live in Japan... without his mom. This included communication between the two; they aren't allowed to come into contact with each other by any means, even through phone calls or letters."

Kaoru finished off the entire explanation. "So, with his mother's health being in such a condition, Tamaki-senpai decided that leaving for Japan would be the best decision. He knew that staying with his mother and leaving her in debt would only worsen her health. Not long after he left, however, out of either anguish or just plain guilt, his mother left France in shame and went into hiding. He's never seen her since then; her current whereabouts are unknown."

The sadness in Haruhi's eyes once Kaoru had finished was so prominent, and I put my arm around her snugly, knowing that all of this was especially hard for her to hear. She was in a similar circumstance of missing a motherly figure, as I'd known through the course of our friendship very well. I let out a sigh and rested my head on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"I had no idea," Haruhi muttered dejectedly as her gaze met the rose-tiled floor. "He always seemed so cheerful. Who would have guessed?"

Hani peered over at the two of us, and he gave us an expression of reassurance. "It's really easy to feel sorry for Tama-chan, but all of the hardships that he's faced have helped him to become who he is today!" he smiled as Mori nodded in approval. "He'll be just fine."

The twins looked up with sad smiles as they peered at the rest of us. "I think we'd all be lying if we said it'd be easy without Kyouya-senpai, but..." Hikaru began before his voice trailed off.

Kaoru finished. "Well, the host club's like Tamaki-senpai's safehaven. At the end of the day, he's still got the rest of us."

Haruhi and I looked up at the rest of them, and despite the sadness in their smiles, the bit of comfort and reassurance was nice to have. For the rest of our time at Ouran, at least, we'd have the others, wouldn't we?

The double doors creaked open and a yellowish light flooded in. All of us shifted our gaze in that direction. Two long shadows were stretched our way; Tamaki had finally returned to us with Éclair by his side. However, to add on to my annoyance with such a condescending woman's presence, there was something else that caught my attention.

It was Tamaki's face. There was such a grim emptiness to it that I thought I'd never see, and he gazed at us as though all life had been drained from him. Éclair wore a mildly triumphant expression in contrast. What on earth had she done or said to make him stare at the rest of us in such a way?

"Everyone, I have an important announcement," Tamaki called out with a seemingly uninviting tone of voice.

All of us stared at him in apprehension before he parted his lips slightly to continue. "As of today, Lady Éclair and I are officially engaged."

I could almost feel Haruhi's heart drop from the way her eyes had widened, and the others stood frozen in their spots. I was sure that he couldn't possibly say anything else to upset or shock us more, but I was completely wrong.

"Furthermore," he continued with the same low tone of voice, "The host club will be permanently dissolved after the Ouran fair. That is all."

Haruhi let out a barely audible gasp, and at that point, I wasn't paying attention to the others' reactions. My own state of shock and desolation had washed over me with such great force that I couldn't bear to stay in their general area any longer. For approximately the tenth time that day, my heart had plummeted, but it was so much worse this time around... exponentially worse.

I quickly paced forward and kept my gaze down as I neared Tamaki and Éclair. "Excuse me," I muttered shortly, continuing to walk briskly straight out into the hallway.

I needed to get my things from the music room and head home right then and there. Tears were already beginning to well up in my eyes, but I did my best to hold everything in so long as I was on school grounds; for this reason, staying in any of Ouran's buildings at the moment would do nothing but drive my sanity away.

A figure approached as I continued forward, and through my slightly blurred vision, I could see that it was Kyouya. He kept his gaze forward as well as he strode in the opposite direction, and after a few more quick steps, we passed by each other without a glance or a word. Neither of us looked back.

Prior to the past few days, time moved so quickly when I was with him; each hour was a mere minute in my memory. Once we'd passed each other in that moment, however, the contrast was astonishing. The split second in which our shadows had collided and continued to move in opposite directions felt like an eternity of bleak nothingness. It was then that I'd realized that whatever we had, in the span of a week, turned to complete and total unfamiliarity.

We were strangers.

We were nothing to each other anymore.

* * *

_**Author's Note**_

The next chapter will be the last official chapter of the series, oh my goodness... don't worry, my dears, you should know that I'm a fan of happy endings. The epilogue is divided into three parts, too; there's more that's going to happen. ^^

I'll see you in the final chapter soon! Thank you so much for reading.


	35. Inseparable

_— Final Chapter —_

**_Inseparable_**

* * *

Bolts of thunder erupted across the sky in a way that seemed to shake the earth, and the rain continued to pour noisily as Haruhi and I shook beside each other in the darkness. I wrapped the blanket around the both of us more tightly, finally allowing tears to well up in my eyes just as she did. It was a good thing our parents allowed me to stay with her for the night, because I wasn't sure that either of us could survive such a predicament alone.

I didn't know for certain about whether or not Tamaki was only following orders, but if he truly didn't want to leave us, and if he truly believed we were the family he claimed we were, then why would he choose to separate the host club this way? Why would he make the dissolution so abrupt and agonizing before taking his leave from us?

Another bolt of thunder roared deafeningly, and Haruhi quickly buried her head into my shoulder as she began to hiccup quietly. This was the first time I'd seen her cry in years; she wasn't one to exhibit such an emotion so often. This was one thing that broke my heart most about Tamaki's engagement to Lady Éclair: the fact that it hurt Haruhi so deeply for a reason she herself couldn't explain.

It seemed that she was stuck in the same situation I'd been in while struggling to admit my own feelings for Kyouya, but trying to get her to acknowledge her own for Tamaki would just make things worse.

So I left it alone. We couldn't do anything to change the complete separation of the people we'd come to form such a strong bond with; it was too late.

Haruhi continued to whimper as quietly as she could, and when the rain began to fall even more loudly, I'd realized that both Kyouya and Tamaki would be gone in a matter of days. Immediately after I'd taken notice of such a concept, I felt my chest begin to cave in and my breathing became more shallow.

I kept telling myself not to cry too much because Haruhi didn't need to see me in such a condition as well, but it couldn't be helped. With one last roar of thunder that seemed to split the sky in two, my vision began to blur greatly and I allowed my head to rest against hers. Tears began to stream down my face at an uncontrollable rate.

The torrential downpour didn't let up in the slightest.

For the rest of the night, in the safety of the blanket we were wrapped up in, we wept.

* * *

The hosts and I were dressed in the same attire as we were at the end of yesterday's events, and the club was open for business to the general public for the second and final day of the school fair. Although I was sure that the others were as exhausted as me and Haruhi, we tried to stick to the host club's ideology that the guests' happiness was of utmost importance.

This was our last opportunity to do so; the next day, we'd wander the halls with the mentality that the host club was a mere thing of the past. I tried not to think about it too much.

I continued to push the food cart around in the cream-colored heels that Mrs. Hitachiin provided with the dress, trying my best to ignore the discomfort and pain in my toes. Fortunately, my walking wasn't as awkward as it was the day before.

Stopping just for just a second to take a short break behind the statue in the middle of the room, I took my shoes off discreetly and puffed my cheeks up. Little did I know that Lady Éclair was sitting in her usual spot on the other side.

"Welcome, miss," Kyouya said as he set her tea down with a small clink.

I could just picture a contemptuous grin on her face when she replied. "I know you. You're one of the Ootori family's sons, aren't you? Unfortunately, you're the third son, so you can never be the family's successor."

My eyes widened at her words yet again; how rude could someone possibly be?

Despite the fact that she'd just taken a jab at his weak spot, he continued with a cordial tone of voice. "What can I do for you today, Mademoiselle?"

I could hear the faint click of her opera glasses on the table before she responded. "You can tell me how much Haruhi Fujioka is still in debt with the host club."

After a bit of unintelligible chatter between the two, Kyouya called Haruhi over to them.

From what I could infer, she'd taken a seat in front of Éclair before their conversation started, and the latter began with yet another sneer. "I couldn't seem to notice that my Tamaki seemed to have a soft spot for you."

"Just what are you getting at?" Haruhi queried in a low tone of voice to mask her irritation. "Are you trying to say that you're jealous of me?"

"Oh, listen to you," Éclair began. I hated the way she spoke; it was so condescending that it made her sound like she was talking to a small oblivious child.

She continued. "Tamaki won't be coming today. I warned him that I'd be upset if he'd ever shown his face at the host club again. Tell me, are you Tamaki's lover?"

Haruhi waited a few long seconds before responding. "No, miss. Not at all," she muttered shortly.

"Hm, I see. That's good to hear," Éclair replied with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Then I suppose that means you're nothing to him."

I slipped my heels back on and stood up, but I hesitated in walking around to the other side of the statue once Haruhi began to speak up again.

She spoke with a stern tone of voice. "While I may not be his lover, I know that I am not nothing to him."

A long silence ensued, and I could hear Hani-senpai beginning to panic a little. "Where's Tama-chan?" he asked. I could almost hear the pout in his voice.

I narrowed my eyes as I rolled the cart around to the other side of the statue and to the side of the table at which Haruhi and Éclair had been sitting. This time around, Éclair was dressed in a black business suit with the ruffles of her blouse sticking out of her blazer.

She raised her opera glasses yet again with a coy smile and peered up into my face. "Hm, what's this I see?" she inquired disdainfully.**  
**

Although I wanted nothing more than to take her golden spectacles and to violently chuck them across the room, I settled for a stern expression and kept my lips pressed firmly together. "May I get you anything, ma'am?" I asked shortly in a non-cordial tone of voice.

"I hear you design costumes for the host club," she replied snobbishly, lowering her purple lenses to reveal the piercing blue of her eyes once more. She narrowed them ever so slightly. "Interesting to see that the chairman allows such people into the school. You're a—what are they called—commoner, aren't you? Anyone could see it from a mile away by the way you walk in those heels," she sighed, standing up and facing elsewhere before finishing. "They're rather… _unfitting_ for a girl like you."

I clenched my jaw as she made her way in the opposite direction, and I rolled the cart slightly to the side so that I could take her seat.

"Don't pay her any mind," Haruhi muttered, keeping her gaze on the tea cup in front of her.

"Oh, I won't," I replied lowly as I rolled my eyes in disbelief. "She's named after a chocolate-covered cream-filled French dessert, for crying out loud."

Haruhi snorted just a little before the two of us shifted our attention towards the others. They looked a little discouraged even when Kyouya was reminding them about the importance of keeping the guests happy, but after letting out a sigh, Hani forced a giggle and perked right up again. "He's right, Kao-chan!"

"_Gah!_ Hani-senpai, what are you doing!" Kaoru shouted once the little blond had jumped right onto him with Usa-chan still in his arms.

Mori cleared his throat and walked over to the identical red-head. "Come on," he muttered deeply, lifting a startled Hikaru right up off of his feet and carrying him towards his twin.

"Ugh—let go, Mori-senpai!" Hikaru barely managed to choke out.

Kyouya turned away from them to face in our direction, and he made his way towards our table. I stood up in preparation to walk away once he'd said what he needed to, keeping my gaze on my feet and my hand relatively near my cart for the meantime.

"I'd like to thank both of you for your hard work," he said, pushing his glasses up just slightly further up the bridge of his nose. He first looked towards Haruhi. "After that request from Lady Éclair, the entirety of your debt has been paid off. You've finally been ridden of the expenses from the Renaissance vase you broke. At this point in time, you're free to quit the host club."

She looked up at him, and her eyes began to widen once he'd turned towards me. "Hiroshi," he began.

He said my name in such a way that made us strangers once again, but I quickly reminded myself that it had already been that way for a short while. I masked my slight surprise. "Yes?" I responded in the same formal manner as my gaze had subconsciously shifted elsewhere.

After a second, my eyes met his once more to see that there was still a certain coldness to his expression. In seeing this, I proceeded further in putting up a mask of my own.

He cleared his throat and continued. "If I'm not mistaken, the set of attire we'll be dressed in later this evening is the last we'll be wearing as a group. You no longer need to continue with your designs for us; it'd be reasonable for you to leave the host club as well."

I met his gaze quickly one last time and peered downward before placing my hand on the edge of the cart, but just as I could see Kyouya's father out of the corner of my eye, I froze. He walked up right behind be, eyeing Kyouya with a stare of disapproval before turning away once again.

Haruhi had already gotten up to change into her next set of attire for the evening at that point, but I couldn't bring myself to walk away just yet.

Kyouya's father cleared his throat before speaking. "When they're young, people think that they have all the time in the world, but really, that is never the case." He lowered his voice. "Don't waste your time on something that will ultimately hold no value."

I breathed out in anger and swung around to face him. I was far too tired of holding in my opinion about him; even though Kyouya and I likely had no little amount friendship left, his own father had done enough to make him believe that he was incompetent. I decided I'd go with what Haruhi had advised me to do the day before and allow Kyouya to see that I still cared for his well-being enough to say something; just not in the way she may have expected.

After his initial shock, Kyouya's father had shifted his gaze towards me just slightly.

"Don't think for a second that our club holds no value," I said as my eyes began to narrow. "I don't believe you're aware of how hard your son works in the slightest; if you did, I'm sure you wouldn't look upon the rest of us so condescendingly. Tell me, do you really think that working to ensure the happiness of others is a complete waste of time and energy?

"With all due respect, it's a bit hypocritical on your part. A trade like this of work and happiness is the make-up of a basic business concept. I would have expected you, the CEO of the Ootori Group, to be especially educated on such a topic. In exchange for one's assets, you must work to ensure their satisfaction; is that something that your son doesn't do as a member of the host club? He takes time out of each day to calculate things like our expenditures and revenue as well, all while staying at the top of his class. I hope you take this into account."

I paused briefly to see if he'd respond, but he was frozen in place. I cleared my throat lightly before finishing. "For these reasons, you shouldn't deny that Kyouya-senpai is an amazing person. Please think again before tossing your son's talent aside. I think it would be wasteful on your part; not his."

Mr. Ootori had only kept still for a few more seconds before walking off in the other direction with his assistant. I at least hoped that he'd allowed my words to sink in for a moment.

Kyouya kept his gaze down as he pushed his glasses up once more. He waited for a few long seconds before speaking up again. "You may want to change into your evening attire at this time."

At that point, I saw my own little speech as a mere goodbye gift for him. Seeing that his tone of voice and expression didn't stray from the same one he'd been using for the past few days, I kept my rigidity and began to walk towards the club room without uttering another word to him. Just like when we'd passed each other the day before, I didn't bother looking back.

* * *

In discussing plans for the Victorian Era cosplay about a month before the school fair, Tamaki had cheerfully encouraged me to wear a hoop cage along with Haruhi for the last cosplay set of the school year, but I declined immediately. Although Yuzuha Hitachiin told me that I deserved to wear a special design once in a while, this was one of the exceptions. I chose to carry out my duty as a designer for them one last time, and this involved sitting back and enjoying how well the models showcased the outfits.

The sunset had once again transformed the lighting of the club room into a deep orange, and, doing what a designer does best, I observed how well the Victorian attire fit each of the hosts. That is, apart from Tamaki and Kyouya.

I assumed that Kyouya was running a little late at that point in time, but I hoped that Tamaki would at least come back to see Haruhi in the pink dress I'd designed for her; he was the one who begged me to design women's attire for her specifically, just to go all out for one of our last events for the year.

Allowing a sad smile to cross my face, I turned towards all of them. "All of you look great," I said for the hundredth time. This was it; this was my last time complimenting them as the first people to bring my designs to life.

And, for the hundredth and probably last time for the others as well, they smiled. Kaoru peered over at me and spoke in an almost scripted manner. "You did a great job," he replied. "Thank you."

"Did I really have to wear a dress, though?" Haruhi muttered, looking down and trying to pat down the general puffiness of the pink fabric. "A suit like theirs would have been a lot more comfortable, and to think that Tamaki-senpai even used his puppy eyes so that…"

Her voice trailed off when she realized she'd been speaking about him in such a casual manner again, and she froze.

The others fidgeted impatiently for a little while before becoming somewhat irritated. We tried to call missing pair several times through their cell phones, but there was no answer from either of them.

Hikaru let out an agitated sigh. "Alright, what's holding up Kyouya-senpai? And if the boss cares even just a bit for us anymore, shouldn't he have come, too? I didn't think he'd allow that lady to order him around to this extent. I wonder what's gotten into him."

"Me too," Haruhi replied quietly. "I really… I really thought he'd show."

After another few moments of silence, Kaoru pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "I'll try to reach Tamaki through his family's second estate; maybe Shima will pick up," he muttered, quickly dialing a series of buttons on his phone and holding it to his ear.

"Shima?"

"The head of staff at one of Tamaki-senpai's mansions," Hikaru explained.

A couple more moments of anticipation passed before Kaoru seemed to have received an answer, and he put it on speaker. "Hello, Shima?" he asked. "This is Kaoru."

"Ah, Kaoru?" a woman responded on the other line. She let out a dejected sigh before continuing. "I assume you're calling in regards to your concern for Master Tamaki. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I must tell you that he will be departing for France soon."

Kaoru's expression shifted to one of confusion, and Shima spoke once more. "I tried to talk him out of it. But he said that the Suoh family had forgiven his beloved mother, and that he was finally going to get to see her again."

Everyone listened intently as Shima continued in her explanation. "He also claimed that if he stayed at Ouran, his capriciousness would only cause trouble for you as well as everyone else in the club."

All of us were frozen once Kaoru gently put his phone down on the coffee table.

My heart skipped a beat, and I rushed over to one of the windows to find that Tamaki was staring up at us in the distance with a lonesome expression. In a matter of seconds, he was being driven in the opposite direction in a red convertible. Lady Éclair was with him.

I furrowed my brow and pounded my fist onto the window just once. "Tamaki-senpai!" I called out frustratedly, as though he'd be able to hear us.

"What? Tama-chan is going to leave us?" Hani cried out in a panic.

Hikaru clenched his jaw as he furrowed his brow. "You're kidding me!" he shouted angrily, suddenly turning his gaze downward and narrowing his eyes in a flurry of frustration. "H-he can't just let it end so suddenly!" he stammered as he began to shake.

"Hikaru," Kaoru whispered dejectedly, turning towards his twin in an attempt to calm him down.

"Excuse me, sir," Shima began, causing Kaoru to look towards his phone once more.

"Yes?"

"In case you haven't heard, I believe Kyouya will be departing for the United States soon as well."

My eyes widened. "What does she mean by 'soon'?" I queried, looking towards Kaoru.

Shima seemed to have heard my question. "He would be getting onto his own flight at around the same as Master Tamaki, I assume."

All of us looked around at each other frantically; it seemed as though we'd never been placed into a more helpless situation, and Kaoru had allowed his phone to drop to the floor, shutting it.

"What the hell does he think he's doing?" I muttered as my head began to pound. "I thought that tomorrow was going to be his last day."

Hikaru looked like he was getting ready to smash something, and in that moment, he turned to us. "Maybe Kyouya-senpai's family is still keeping one of their cars in the parking building," he said quickly. "We need to do something."

"Are you crazy?" I asked as my eyes began to widen, wondering if he was really planning on going to the extent of pulling something illegal.

For some reason, everyone else seemed to comply, and Kaoru was ushering me out the door along with them before I could object further.

"Do you want to stop them or not?!" Hikaru breathed out frustratedly. "Now let's go!" he shouted, sprinting out of the club room as the rest of us trailed closely behind in a hurry.

Mori and Hani ran off in another direction with the quick agreement that they'd find another form of transport immediately; one car wouldn't fit all of us.

In a matter of minutes, although almost completely out of breath, the rest of us managed to reach the building. Hikaru lead the way to the division in which Kyouya's family usually parked their vehicles. Upon seeing a familiar face of a man in the front seat of the car on the end, he made a mad dash for it. "I'm pretty sure that's one of Kyouya-senpai's drivers. This has gotta be one of his family's vehicles," he muttered, peering into the left-side window.

The driver rolled down the dimmed glass. "Ah, Kyouya's friend?"

"Can you take us somewhere?" Hikaru asked hastily.

After a bit of hesitation, the driver began to shake his head from side to side. "I'm… I'm sorry sir, but the thing is…"

Hikaru narrowed his eyes impatiently. "What is it?"

Suddenly, what seemed to be an army of guards had appeared before us. Their uniforms looked all too familiar, and I remembered that the same men were the ones hauling out shellfish for Hani in Hokkaido.

"Shoot," I muttered.

Haruhi and the twins turned to look at me.

I gulped. "These guys are the Ootori family's private police force."

Hikaru and Kaoru had pulled me and Haruhi behind their backs instinctively as I tried to come up with a way to escape, but the answer had already come rushing in at that second.

A series of startled gasps and cries could be heard from each of these men; my heart skipped a beat as two horses had come whinnying through the group. Behind them, Hani and Mori were sitting inside a large carriage. A surge of shock rushed through me as the pair jumped off to motion towards the four of us.

"Hikaru, take the carriage," Mori called out. "If you use the back hill's bypass, you can cut both of them off."

One guard began to shout and point at them. "Don't just stand there; do something to stop—_oh!_"

Hani cut him short with a strong spin-kick to the head, and he did a backflip away from the rest of them shortly thereafter. "Takashi!" he called out, jumping up in the air yet again for another attack. "Don't go easy on 'em!"

"Don't worry. I won't," Mori replied.

Instinctively, as though Hikaru had known about this all along, he hopped up into the driver's seat of the carriage. Kaoru followed, jumping right up into the passenger side alongside him. "Come on!" the pair shouted in unison.**  
**

After a bit of hesitation, Haruhi was able to jump up into the back seat, but I couldn't bring myself to do so much as step forward at the moment. I was petrified.

"Hiroshi," Mori called out sternly after kicking several more guards to the ground. He peered over in my direction. "Hurry up and get them."

Feeling my breaths beginning to quicken, I hopped into the back seat alongside Haruhi, and we were off.

We rode through a dirt road in the wooded area so rocky that it made the carriage shake uncontrollably, and my heart began to race as Haruhi and I held on the the front seats with all of our might. Hikaru sped up so much that we were sure to fall off if we didn't hang on as tightly as we could.

"Hikaru!" Kaoru exclaimed worriedly. "You need to slow down; do you want to get us killed?" he called out over the carriage's rattling.

"If it wasn't for Tamaki, the two of us would still only be lost souls!" Hikaru replied, still completely disregarding his brother's request. "We were only able to meet Haruhi and Hiroshi and the others because the host club brought us together! To think that it could all end so suddenly like this… it's something that I can't tolerate!"

One of the wheels seemed to have hit a huge boulder and jolted us upright to the point where we couldn't keep our hold any longer. The entire carriage flew into the air and onto a completely separate path below us, causing Hikaru to lose control and let go altogether.

"_Hikaru!_" Kaoru called out.

The carriage had landed roughly with another thud that jolted us upright, and Kaoru, Haruhi, and I were the only ones who'd remained inside the carriage. A piece of jagged wood managed to make a deep cut in the side of my wrist. I winced upon looking at it and feeling a suddenly excruciating pain. After groaning for a moment as my chest caved in, I quickly shifted my attention towards the other two.

We looked back and forth between each other frantically as I felt a series of bruises beginning to form, and Kaoru immediately jumped out of the carriage. "Hikaru!" he repeated, spinning his head around until he let out another gasp.

Calling his twin's name several times more, Kaoru sprinted towards the pumpkin patch that Hikaru had landed in. He rushed to his badly injured twin's side and breathed shallowly in worry. "Hikaru, are you okay? Is your arm hurting you?" he asked.

I dashed over to the two of them in a panic, and Hikaru began to shake once more as tears began to well up in his eyes. "This can't be the end," he struggled to breathe out. He rested his head in Kaoru's arms as he writhed in pain. "It's just not fair; the host club's the only thing that made us happy. Dammit."

A gentle breeze began to blow once more and I could feel my heart beginning to plummet once more, but Kaoru seemed to have shifted his attention in Haruhi's direction. I did the same.

Boldly, she pulled away her fake mahogany-colored tresses and tossed them to the side.

"What's she doing?" Kaoru muttered as she proceeded to unzip the pink outer layer of her dress and tossed it to the side as well.

At this point, she was wearing only the white inner-layer of her attire, and she hopped right into the driver's seat of the carriage before grabbing hold of the reins.

My eyes widened. "Haruhi!" I called out, rushing towards her.

Another wave of apprehension rushed through me as she stretched her hand out towards me; I didn't even know what was going on at that point. Everything was happening too quickly.

"Why are you—"

"Let's go," Haruhi interjected. "This is the last chance you'll get to see Kyouya-senpai; are you really okay with leaving things the way they are?"

It took a few seconds for her words to sink in.

My answer was no. I didn't want to go through life with an uncertainty that would hang over me for years on end; I didn't want to be strangers again. I didn't want any of that. From what I understood, Kyouya's father would find some way to prevent him from contacting us once leaving for America. This wasn't something I'd be able to accept without seeing Kyouya again.

"So are you coming or not?" she asked. "Hurry up and get on!"

Also realizing that she seemed to be speaking about her own feelings for Tamaki through my situation, I looked up with an expression of determination that matched hers, and I quickly took her hand to pull myself up next to her in the passenger seat.

"Let's hang on tight, then," I told her.

Haruhi nodded quickly in reply and immediately shifted her gaze forward. "_Hah!_" she shouted, lifting the reins high into the air. She quickly slammed them back down with a force that sent the horses running again.

I looked back to see Hikaru and Kaoru running up to give us one last look, and with a nod to them, I faced forward once more as the wind continued to whip through our hair.

Beads of sweat began to form at the sides of Haruhi's face as she held on tightly, and in a matter of minutes, we were able to see the red convertible in which Tamaki and Lady Éclair were being driven.

They continued along paved road right below us, and once Haruhi had eyed it with a sense of strong will, my level of anxiety had skyrocketed once more.

"Haruhi, don't tell me we're going to have to make another jump!" I called out over the racket of the damaged wheel. "I don't think we'll—"

"_Hah!_" she shouted once more, pulling the reins in such a way that it made us fly into the air once again.

I held on with all of my strength as the entire carriage fell with a huge thud. It crackled in a way that made me believe that the entire thing would fall apart, but we managed to land on the pavement in the lane beside the red car and it still held up.

Tamaki and Éclair had shifted their gaze in our direction quickly, and the two allowed their eyes to widen. Tamaki managed to stand up and face us as the car continued to move forward. "Haruhi! Hiroshi! What on earth are you doing?!" he shouted. "That's dangerous; you're going to get yourselves killed! Stop the carriage right now!"

"Senpai!" Haruhi called out in reply. "Please come back to Ouran!"

"I mean it!" Tamaki interjected in a panic. "_Stop the carriage!_"

Haruhi's expression turned to one of frustration as she completely disregarded Tamaki's pleas to get ourselves out of danger. "All of us would be lost without you!" she shouted.

"But…" Tamaki began as the wind continued to whip through his hair. "But everyone said they were put off by the host club."

"You really are an idiot; what's wrong with you?! After all this time that we've been together, you still can't tell when we're joking? Everyone loves being in the host club; we really do! Even me, Senpai," she began, letting go of one of the reins to stretch her arm towards him.

"Haruhi, the carriage!" I shouted in hopes that I'd be heard over the blistering winds.

Like the idiot Tamaki was, he decided to stretch his arm outward as well instead of cautioning her further, and she began to slip. "_Haruhi!_" I repeated as she'd completely lost her grip on the reins.

Before I could do anything, she flew backwards off of the bridge, and Tamaki leapt right after her.

My heart began to beat faster than ever, and beads of sweat began to form along the sides of my face as I'd instinctively grabbed onto the reins myself. If Tamaki was able to save Haruhi the way he did in Hokkaido, I hoped that they'd land safely in the water and that they'd be alright. As far as I was concerned, a fall into the lake from such an elevation wouldn't prove to be fatal.

On the contrary, landing head-first on the concrete would guarantee a crack in my skull and a broken spine.

"I'm going to die; I swear, I'm going to die," I muttered repeatedly, making every attempt to slow the carriage down by pulling back harder on the reins.

"Whoa, whoa!" I called out, remembering that this what what Hikaru had done to slow down the horses the day before. Hoping that this was the correct way to perform such an action, I took a few deep breaths. Luckily, the horses began to move at a much more steady pace. They'd slowed to a stop shortly thereafter.

Breathing hard and closing my eyes, I loosened my grip on the reins and rested my forehead onto my balled up fists. It took quite a while for my heart and head to stop pounding, but I was so grateful to have been alive at the time even though I wasn't quite over the initial denial. "Good boys," I whispered in relief, looking up at the horses in front of me. "Thank you."

"Still breathing?" a voice inquired from beside me.

I turned my head in its direction to find that Éclair was staring directly at me from the back seat of the red car, lacking her set of opera glasses this time around. They'd pulled up to park right beside me without my noticing.

I shot her a look of confusion as the driver cleared his throat.

"Lady Éclair," he began. "You've heard the story that the housekeeper tells back home, haven't you? The one who talked about her son who always loved to play piano for her?"

Although I wasn't sure why he'd discuss such an issue in front of me, my eyes began to widen as things began to click together.

Éclair let out a sigh before eyeing me intently, and she turned her to face her driver once again. "I was going to give him the opportunity to see his mother again. Really, he's such a fool."

"Wait," I muttered, causing her to turn in my direction once again. "So you and Tamaki-senpai decided to get engaged because…" I began before my voice trailed off and my eyes widened further.

I probably wouldn't have guessed that the engagement involved the opportunity to see his mother again, but Éclair had only given me a blank stare as I'd come into such a realization. "What else were you expecting?" she queried.

"Lady Éclair, about what time was Tamaki's flight supposed to take off?" I asked quickly.

"About an hour or so from now," she replied.

"And how far away are we from the airport?"

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Do you expect us to drive you there? I'm not quite sure who you take us for," she replied in her usual condescending tone of voice.

Rolling my eyes, I did my best to calculate the distance from our current location to the main entrance on my own. Seeing as it would take half of an hour to get there if I'd walked from that point, I jumped off the carriage and began to jog with my pair of cream-colored heels in my left hand; it was a wonder my dress was still mostly intact after such a series of events.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" Éclair asked before I spun back around in her direction.

"You think I expect you to drive me there?" I inquired with a chuckle. "I'm not quite sure who you take me for."

I could tell she was doing everything in her power to maintain a carefree appearance, but it clearly wasn't working, and her bitterness amused me.

Making my way back to the sidewalk on the edge of the paved road, I took a few steps forward before being stopped in my tracks yet again; Lady Éclair had called out once more and the red convertible had pulled right up to where I was standing.

"What?" I asked shortly. "I need to be at the airport really soon, and if I'm travelling by foot, it'll take longer. And I'm not going to risk having the carriage fall apart. So, if you don't mind—"

"You're another close friend of Tamaki's as well, aren't you?" she asked. "I can distinctly recall him referring to you as his second little girl."

I let out an impatient sigh and briefly glanced in the opposite direction. "What's your point?" I asked hurriedly.

"If I couldn't repay him for escorting me by allowing him to see his mother, I'll have to do so in another way. Just get in; we'll provide a close friend of his with a seemingly much-needed ride instead."

Waiting a few seconds and raising my eyebrow at her, I wondered if she was only pulling my leg, but she met my gaze with a slightly darker expression then. "We were headed in that direction anyway. I hope you aren't so dimwitted that you wouldn't accept such an offer."

I jumped into the back seat alongside her before she could say anything else, and we proceeded further along the road. She eyed me as I kept my gaze forward.

"By chance, is it the Ootori boy you're after?" Lady Éclair wondered out loud as the enormous aerodrome came closer and closer into our view.

I gave a quick nod and continued to keep my eyes forward; the anxiety was beginning to build up once more.

After staring at me for a few long seconds in confusion, she'd already become bored of the topic. We began to pull up towards the entrance to the Tokyo International Airport within ten minutes. Upon realizing that she'd saved me a great amount of trouble by driving me instead of having me walk, my view of her was altered in a slightly more positive way. She was looking to help Tamaki somehow as well; maybe she wasn't pure evil after all.

"Miss, I believe you'd have about thirty minutes before Tamaki-san's flight would be taking off," the driver informed me.

I hoped Shima was right about Tamaki's and Kyouya's flights being relatively close to each other time-wise.

"Thank you," I smiled tiredly at him, shifting my gaze to the side soon thereafter. "Thank you as well, Lady Éclair," I said, leaving her slightly wide-eyed as I jumped right out of the red convertible. I made a dash towards the entrance.

Running around the airport to figure out flights wasn't as effortless as I'd predicted; I became tired and weak much more easily at that point in the day. I asked various people about where the flight departure area for the US could possibly be, and the fact that my breaths were becoming shallow again had only worsened my anxiety. My annoyance towards Kyouya began to build up again upon remembering that he didn't even have the decency to inform us of his early leave.

I continued, however, and after reading several of the flight listings and being pointed in several directions, I was finally able to figure out what seemed to be the correct area.

With as much energy as I could muster up, I was able to dash between little spaces in the big crowd and jogged quickly towards the particular area of flight departure. It became much harder to breathe as I neared the area, however, and when the thought crossed my mind that Kyouya may have already left, I nearly fell to my knees in desolation. What an idiot he was.

But I could see a familiar figure that was only a few meters away from me, dressed in a periwinkle-colored blazer and black dress pants; it was our school uniform, without a doubt. He turned his head just slightly so that I could see that this boy was who I'd been searching for indeed.

"Kyouya!" I called out as loudly as I could, pacing quickly in his direction. Tears began to well up in my eyes once more. "Turn around, stupid!"

A bunch of people in the crowd began to point and stare, and the guards surrounding Kyouya began to make their way in my direction, but I couldn't care less at that point. After all I'd been through in the span of a single day, I wasn't going to allow anything else to get in my way.

Once he was able to see me, his eyes widened in shock. Maybe it was the fact that my dress was soiled, or maybe it was the gash on the side of my wrist. Either way, he was smart enough to infer that getting here was no easy task.

"Hiroshi?" he murmured. "How did you…"

Two of the guards had taken both of my arms in theirs and held me away, but such an action still didn't stop me from calling him out.

My eyebrows were knitted together in frustration. "How could you possibly leave this way this after everything we've been through? The others didn't need twice the anguish; Tamaki-senpai was already leaving at that point. We at least deserved a proper goodbye, you idiot."

The shock in his eyes hadn't lessened in the slightest.

I exhaled in both dejection and exhaustion. "We wanted to see you one last time, Kyouya-senpai," I breathed out tiredly. I lowered my voice to a whisper as a few stray tears began to run down my cheeks. The guards hadn't lessened their grip. "_I_ wanted to see you one last time. Did that thought cross your mind for even just a second?"

For the first time in a while, I could see tears beginning to well up in Kyouya's eyes as well as he stood frozen in his spot.

He began to pace quickly in my direction. "Let go of her," he demanded, shoving the members of his family's police force away so that they'd release their grip completely.

I fell to my knees as I faced downward, and my vision began to blur even more.

Kyouya bent down on his knees as well, and gingerly, he took my hands in his. I tilted my face upward just enough to see that the wall of ice seemed to have melted; his cold exterior had gone away completely. With guilt and remorse prominent in his eyes, he allowed tears to stream down his cheeks as well, and he gently rested his forehead onto mine.

It was a relief to be able to finally look into each other's eyes with sincerity, and I could feel a sense of solace beginning to spread through me. Exhaling in exhaustion, I allowed my forehead to rest on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arms around me immediately for a warm embrace.

"I'm sorry. I'll stay with you for a little longer," he murmured shakily into my hair, holding on to me even more tightly. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

"Coming out soon, Hiroshi?" Tamaki inquired with a cheeky smile, peering through the small crack between the club room's double doors. "You should join us."

Moonlight poured through the windows of music room three, and the clarity of the stars could be seen almost perfectly from where I was sitting. It was a perfect night for fireworks, and I was very much looking forward to them.

I turned my head to look at him. "I'll be there in a little while," I replied. "You and Haruhi have already dried off completely, right?"

"We won't be catching a cold easily in such warm weather, Hiroshi," Tamaki laughed. "Well, the rest of us will be right by the main entrance; I'm sure that the others would like to watch the fireworks with you as well. Just be sure to come down once they start."

I smiled and nodded in reply as he shut the doors to head back down the stairwell.

The host club was reunited as a whole again, but it wasn't for long. Although Tamaki clearly made the choice to stay with us, Kyouya's Stanford honors program responsibilities hadn't gone away; he was still leaving for California in a matter of days. His flight had merely been postponed until then.

Maybe it would have been a good idea to leave things the way they were at the moment. Nearly getting Haruhi and myself killed by jumping onto different levels of pavement in a freaking carriage? This should have been considered a confession in itself. I'd gone through so many crazy turns of events just to stop Kyouya at an airport; he should have been capable of inferring that it was my way of getting those three little words across to him.

I stood up and walked over to one of the ceiling-high windows, and a sad smile crossed my face upon seeing the hosts dancing together. It seemed that so many memories would be left behind in the club room.

One of the doors creaked open once more, startling me a little as I turned my attention towards the noise. A pair of footsteps began to echo quietly throughout the room as I felt my heartbeat begin to quicken a little. As I'd assumed, it was Kyouya once again.

We kept our gazes on each other as he paced very steadily towards me, and once he was only about a foot away from me, he gently took my wounded wrist and brought it up so that he could take a closer look at it.

He pulled out a roll of gauze from his pocket and began to wrap it around the base of my hand.

"What are you doing?" I asked quietly.

After securing the pin onto it, he shifted his gaze to meet mine with a coy smile. "You didn't think I'd allow you to go walking around with a bloody hand, did you?"

My eyes widened just a bit. It was almost as though he'd taken the words straight from my mouth from nearly two years ago, when Renge had attempted to make a host club film. I peered downwards as my face began to flush, and I couldn't help but allow another sad smile to cross my lips.

I looked up at Kyouya once more. "Is it still certain that your father wouldn't allow you to contact us once you leave?"

"Actually," he began, "I don't believe I've informed you of the details about my plans to capture his attention. I wanted to be sure that they'd work first so that things wouldn't wind up backfiring."

"Would you mind telling me?"

He shook his head gently from side to side before proceeding. A smug expression overtook his face as he turned his gaze towards the window. "I formed a company of my own under the name of K.O."

"So you really weren't kidding when you said it'd be a difficult task."

"Oh, certainly not," Kyouya replied. He continued after turning his attention towards me once again. "But with the work ethic that people like you seemed to take notice of," he began after a mildly triumphant smile crossed his face, "I was able to accomplish what I'd strived towards, just as my mother predicted."

I chuckled and looked up at him cheekily. "And how did your father begin to take notice?"

"I believe I told all of you about the predicament with Grand Tonnerre. My father's company was one of the Japanese firms at risk of being bought out from it. But, fortunately, I was able to make a negotiation with them using my own; in the place of Grand Tonnerre, I'd used my own business to buy out my father's company."

My eyes widened in shock. "Medical facilities and police force and all?"

"Oh, don't worry, I turned full ownership right back over to my father," he replied with yet another smug grin. "By the looks of it, I think he's finally been able to grasp what I'm capable of. Or at least he's begun to. So, to answer your question, I don't believe he'd have the right to keep me from contacting all of you from time to time."

"That's pretty amazing, Kyouya-senpai," I breathed out in excitement.

But I had to restrain myself from stepping forward to embrace him; I settled for a small smile instead. "So I assume that Stanford will be pretty noiseless without the rest of us around, huh," I laughed half-heartedly. "At least you'll have peace and quiet so that you can focus on your studies more."

Although I'd realized that there was a slim chance of him being a significant part of my future, I feigned a smile in hopes of not further severing our friendship. "I'm really proud of you, Senpai," I began. "Won't be seeing you for at least another three to four years, right? You're gonna be amazing. I can feel it."

It was then than the smile in his eyes began to dwindle, and I shifted my attention elsewhere to keep my own cheerful expression.

"Would you wait for me?" he asked quietly.

My heart dropped just slightly at the sadness in his voice. In an attempt to avoid anymore emotional conflict, I kept my gaze on the ground, and I spoke out of feigned oblivion in regards to what he meant.

"Ah, sure, but how many minutes are there until the fireworks? Tamaki-senpai said that the others wanted us to join them," I began, taking a step in the opposite direction. "I'll start walking down with you in a little while if—"

"Hiroshi," Kyouya interjected, grabbing ahold of my hand before I could go any further.

A few long seconds passed before I turned to look at him, and I slowly took a step towards him once more.

Our gazes were been fixed on each other again. Fully aware that our hands were still clasped together, we still didn't pull away, and his eyes held a tinge of urgency and nervousness mixed into one.

"Wait a moment," he said quickly. "I… I don't want to leave a few things unsaid."

Staying frozen in my spot, I became increasingly nervous as I waited for him to continue.

"I was given the opportunity to depart early for America, so I took it. I didn't give you an official goodbye because I thought that it wouldn't affect you much. We were already beginning to act like we didn't know each other; I didn't think that you'd want to see me again."

A bit of frustration began to rise inside of me as I gingerly pulled my hand away. "You really thought that I didn't care enough about you to at least wish you well on your way? You were the one to put up a wall first, Kyouya-senpai. It was hard for me not to do the same."

"Pretending to be detached from you was one of the most difficult things I've done, Hiroshi. Do you understand how hard it was to hold myself back after you'd spoken up to my father?"

Tilting my head upward to look at him once more, I could see that he'd become mildly frustrated as well.

"I just thought it wouldn't hurt as much," he continued. "But when I saw the look on your face once you were able to reach me at the airport, my attempts were rendered completely useless."

It was then that his expression had changed to a more sincere one, and he turned to face me slowly once more before speaking up again.

"And… everything made sense. What I've been feeling towards you for a long time; it fell into place. I wasn't sure if it was the way you lit up at the sight of the pencil set we'd gotten for you, or the way you always nibbled your bottom lip when concentrating on a sketch, or the fact that you smiled so brightly over something as simple as a cell phone charm…

"Maybe it was the sincerity you held in your eyes whenever you looked at me, or the fact that, by a miracle, someone like you could see right through me so easily. These things… they intrigued me in such a way that I lost several nights of sleep with the image of your face in my mind."

"Kyouya-senpai," I began quietly as my heart began to race. "What are you—"

"When I look at you, I see that a thing such as genuine kindness really does exist in the world; the void within me doesn't seem nearly as deep, and it makes me want to better myself."

He brought himself slightly closer to me again, gently taking both of my hands in his. I peered upward again to meet his gaze. "So by asking you to wait for me, I was requesting that you give me a bit of hope that there will be a reason to do well; a reason for me to return to Japan in a few years' time."

I peered down just briefly as my heartbeat began to quicken again, but I gradually brought my gaze back up to his once more.

"But in a sense, I'm at least glad that I've admitted it to myself before departing for the United States."

I parted my lips to ask what exactly he meant, but nothing came out for a few long seconds.

Almost as though he'd read my mind, Kyouya gave my hands a slight squeeze, and he made sure that our eyes were locked before answering.

"Hiroshi," he whispered, "I love you."

As soon as my eyes widened, I could feel the tears welling up in them again, and Kyouya leaned forward to rest his forehead to mine.

"I love you too, Kyouya," I replied, suddenly astounded by the fact that I'd finally said it out loud. My heart began to overflow with sentiments that were indescribable. "I have for a long time."

He allowed a sad smile to cross his face. "I know that several years is quite a while, but may I ask that we try?" he asked with a truthfulness in his voice that made my heart flutter. "Because I'm certainly willing."

After I nodded, the two of us were able to muster up brighter smiles for each other, and he'd let go of my hands to wrap his arms around my waist instead. The physical distance between us was completely gone. At that point, our noses were pressed up against each other's, and I proceeded in resting my own hands against Kyouya's chest.

Our lips were now less than an inch away from each other, and his breath began to beat at my own.

"May I?" Kyouya murmured fervently, his eyes half-lidded.

I just barely brushed my lips against the corner of his own as a signal of confirmation, and he let out a small chuckle before cupping his hand to the side of my face.

Gently, Kyouya pressed his lips to mine.

After a few long seconds of staying in such a position, we parted for just one moment to exchange shy smiles, but he quickly hugged my waist to his own more snugly and pressed his lips to mine with fervent passion this time around. Tilting our heads, we slowly parted and closed our lips almost simultaneously.

A single firework shot up into the sky, and as it flashed before us, we parted for a bit and peered over in its direction.

"The others are waiting for us," Kyouya whispered as he pulled me into a warm embrace.

I rested my head against his chest and returned the embrace with just as much of a squeeze. "Let's be on our way, then."

After pulling away slightly to gaze at each other with warm smiles, we dashed through the double doors of music room three together one last time. Hurriedly, we ran down the moonlit grand staircase hand-in-hand.

The others greeted us with warm smiles once we'd reached them, particularly Hikaru and Kaoru.

Hikaru laughed heartily, jogging in our direction alongside his twin. "Good! The lovebirds made it just in time."

"We called it from day one!" Kaoru giggled.

Kyouya peered into my face with a chuckle, and a bit of shy laughter escaped me before I reached out towards the pair. Initially expecting a hug, they yelped once I'd given them their usual arm pinches.

"A bit rough there, Pocky," Hikaru sighed with a pout.

I snorted. "Hey, at least it wasn't your injured arm."

After exchanging warm laughter once more, we joined the others to stare up at the beautiful displays of color exploding in the sky. They seemed to dance amongst the stars.

As Kyouya pulled me closer to him once again, I rested the back of my head against his shoulder. He lied his head lightly on mine and held onto me a little more snugly before shifting his gaze upward along with the rest of us.

I'd noticed that Tamaki's and Haruhi's hands had been clasped together as well, and I allowed another smile to cross my face. As for the others, it only took a quick glance in their direction to see that each of them were smiling brightly as well.

An immense amount of warmth and happiness had filled me, for I knew that all of us were completely together in that moment. We kept our gazes up in awe and amazement. In my eyes, at least, this was the Ouran host club at its finest.

The course of my friendship with the host club had become such an adventure during the past two years, and even though it was bittersweet on all of our parts, I was grateful for the memories that we made. Although I knew that our lives could very well be headed in different directions, we'd stay connected in a sense. We'd remain a family and we'd still cherish one another, regardless of what our futures had in store.

No matter where we went, and no matter the physical distance, each of us would stay in each other's hearts. Always.

* * *

_**Author's Note**_

I love you all dearly. Please remember that there is much more that happens in the epilogue (which will have three parts), so this is not the true end, lovelies! You guys are seriously so amazing. Thank you for sticking with me for so long. Thank you so, so much!


	36. Epilogue 01: Anticipation

_— Epilogue Part I —_

**_Anticipation_**

* * *

After stretching my arms upwards for a few long seconds, I let out a deep yawn and brought my hands right back to my desk. I fixed my gaze on the basic human outlines I'd sketched in the previous moments, and pulling out my small case of graphite pencils, I debated on which shade to use for this set of designs.

I was still unsure about the tiny details, however, and because I figured that there was plenty of room for error, I settled for the 8H grade. It would be easy to erase completely if I wasn't satisfied with the outcome.

It was definitely a lot of work having to draw out designs all the time, but this one was a mere university assignment for my core design class at Osaka Bunka Fukusou; I didn't feel as pressured with this one as others. At least it wasn't a final draft for the Hitachiin Design Incorporation.

Being an intern and working alongside Yuzuha Hitachiin for the past three years had not only been a huge honor, but also incredibly fun; I enjoyed myself immensely when we discussed ideas and collection concepts together. I was even provided with an income that was plentiful enough to purchase a large home in another country.

But I didn't. Instead, I decided to save my money and chose a nice, modernly-designed apartment in Osaka located only a short walk from my college campus. It definitely got rid of my worries about paying for school; the tuition was roughly two million yen per year, but with my income, there was a guarantee that I wouldn't be paying off any loans after graduating.

It took a three-hour bus trip to visit my mom and stepfather back in Tokyo, so we communicated often through webcam. Through these conversations, at least, I could see that the two of them still acted like newlyweds after two whole years of marriage. They had more space to live in since I'd already moved out at that point.

Aside from business discussions, Yuzuha and I kept each other up to date with how her sons were doing. They got a younger sister named Ageha after our first year of college; I had to do a bit of heavy work a few days before and after Yuzuha went into labor, but it was worth it. She'd conceived a beautiful baby girl, and Hikaru and Kaoru made sure to come back to Japan for a long visit. It made me laugh to see them pinching her cheeks the same way they'd done with me and Haruhi when we still attended Ouran.

It was great to hear that the two of them were having the time of their lives attending a university in Massachusetts, and they told us about their post-graduation plans to open up their own branch of the family business. Hani and Mori lived in the same apartment complex as them, as did Tamaki and Haruhi.

While Hani and Mori lived in separate rooms, Tamaki begged Haruhi to live with him; with the biggest puppy eyes he'd ever made in his life, he claimed that he wanted to be more like a couple, and she gave in. Needless to say, they've been very happy together despite Haruhi's slightly hectic schedule with law school. The others were wonderful as well.

Puffing up my cheeks and letting out a sigh, I closed my sketchbook upon completing my draft and tucked it neatly into my bag. I'd have to head to the bullet train station if I wanted to get to work on time; I needed to finish a few more tasks before a series of vacation days. Summer break for Osaka students was beginning soon, and in addition, I didn't need to come into the office for a little while.

After shrugging a cardigan over my blouse, I slipped into a black pair of low heels and took one last glance in the mirror. I tucked a few strands of long chestnut-colored hair behind my ear before fixing my pencil skirt, and I headed out after slinging my bag onto my shoulder.

Just as I'd done at six-o'clock each evening, I rode the elevator to the first level of the complex and took a fifteen-minute walk to the station. It didn't take long for me to reach the section at which the Hamamatsu train would arrive shortly.

I puffed out my cheeks and took a seat on the nearest bench. I felt a great amount of anticipation for what was to come in the next few days, but I couldn't help feeling nervous as well.

"Hiroshi!" a familiar voice called out over the noisy bustle.

I shifted my gaze in the direction it had come from. Immediately recognizing the woman with bronze skin and whitish-pink lipstick as my co-worker, I smiled cheekily and waved as she made her way towards me.

Her name was Mei Yasumara. She also happened to be my Osaka classmate and another close friend of Haruhi's. She met us through her father, Misuzu, who had looked after us during our stay in Karuizawa. While she had a particularly high-strung and blunt personality compared to most people I knew, it was nice to find that she was an avid fan of Yuzuha as well. For this reason, she was an intern at the Hitachiin Design Incorporation alongside me.

After waving back, Mei reached into her bag and vigorously pulled out a compact mirror. "Ugh!" she exclaimed in disgust, tugging at a few strands of her bleach-blond tresses before snapping the mirror shut again.

"You look fine," I said, raising an eyebrow as she took a seat beside me.

She grunted and crossed her legs. "My hair hasn't been cooperating lately; how am I going to maintain my appearance for the upcoming fashion show?" she asked in a panic.

"Mei, there's nothing wrong with it," I replied. "Relax, will you? Our vacation time is almost here; just try to let it sink in."

Her worry seemed to fade and she let out an exhausted sigh. "You're right. I'll have time to visit the salon since we don't have to come to work; it'll be fixed soon enough."

I puffed my cheeks out once more, seeing that she'd missed my point.

Once the next train had slowed to a stop in front of us, we stood up and paced quickly towards the nearest entrance in hopes of finding a good place to stand. We were lucky this time; it wasn't too crowded inside and we managed to find a pole to hang on to right away.

The two of us tightened our grip and stiffened once the bullet train rushed forward; we didn't want to be flung towards the back.

Mei let out a sigh once we'd adapted to the motion, and she looked towards me. "You're incredibly lucky, Hiroshi."

"What made you say that all of a sudden?" I asked.

She placed a hand on my shoulder, taking me by surprise. "Tell me your secrets! How are you so close with Hitachiin-sama? Even as an intern myself, I have trouble talking to her. Really, it must be nice to have a great relationship with such an amazing person. You're really living the dream, being so close with the perfect woman!"

My eyebrows were knitted together in befuddlement. "Uh—"

"You even have the perfect man; just look at this thing!" she exclaimed, placing a finger on the charm of my necklace. "Ah, he uses his money to buy you things like this… if only Kasanoda was more like him," she grumbled.

After staring at her with a ponderous expression for a few long seconds, I let out a nervous laugh and pushed her hand away. "Mei, he gave this to me as a Christmas gift when we still attended Ouran; he doesn't go buying things for me left and right. I don't want him to, anyways. I knitted him a scarf in exchange and he appreciated it just as much; wealth shouldn't be a deciding factor when you love someone."

She exhaled shortly in reply. "What a perfect relationship you have."

"Perfect?" I queried, raising an eyebrow at her childish assumption. "You've forgotten that he lives roughly halfway around the globe. You think that we haven't had our fair share of arguments over the past three years? Our time zones are so different and we're so busy that we sometimes go months at a time without hearing each other's voices."

Her eyes widened a bit once I reminded her of such a concept.

"But the important thing is that we choose to stay together; we choose to be patient. At least you and Kasanoda are able to go on weekly dates, right? Just tell him about how you feel. Communication is really important, you know."

Mei turned to me with an apologetic expression this time around. "I'm sorry. You're right."

"Plus, with the break coming up, maybe you two can spend more time together."

"Same for you and Kyouya, I assume," she replied. The corner of her lips began to tug up just slightly. "I'm glad that you two will finally be able to see each other in person. You're meeting him at the airport in two days, aren't you? How exciting it must be for you."

I looked down with a shy smile as my heart began to flutter. "Ah, yes. It is exciting," I replied quietly.

She blinked and threw an arm around me, wrapping it around me tightly.

"Ugh… Mei…" I choked out.

"I'm happy for you!" she exclaimed with a wide smile that stretched out her cakey lipstick.

"Thank you," I coughed out after she'd finally loosened her grip.

In less than an hour, we reached Hamamatsu and took our usual route to get to the Hitachiin Design headquarters. We strolled in through the translucent double doors, and after greeting everyone with friendly smiles and waves, we headed towards the nearest elevator to reach level ten.

We slowly began to rise, and as we approached the appropriate elevation, we were able to look out across the entirety of Osaka through the glass walls. This was one thing that I loved about working here; the architecture and features of the building were just as astounding as Yuzuha's designs themselves. Mei was right when she said that I was lucky, but as an intern at such an amazing place, she was incredibly lucky as well.

Once the elevator had slowed to a stop and the doors began to open, we stepped forward and strode in opposite directions towards our separate offices. I peered down at my phone momentarily as my heels continued to clack across the glossy white flooring to see that Haruhi had sent me a picture message.

After sliding my thumb across the screen, an image of Tamaki and herself had popped up, along with Hani, Mori, and the twins. They were gathered around a dinner table with hilarious expressions on their faces. I snorted, scrolling down to see the caption below.

_Look at these dorks._

Letting out a chuckle, I scrolled back up to look at the picture once more. I missed all of them dearly.

Another set of heels began to click in my direction, and I shifted my gaze forward to find that it was Yuzuha. "Ah, Hiroshi," she smiled, slowing to a stop just as I did.

I bowed quickly and looked back up with a cheeky expression. "Good afternoon, Hitachiin-san."

"You as well, sweetie," she replied. "By the way, there's something for you in your office."

"Paperwork?"

"No, it's a gift," she hummed. "But I'm not entirely sure who sent it; I didn't get a chance to look at the tag."

I nodded in reply as curiosity crept up on me, and after one more wave to each other, I paced a little more quickly towards my office area.

With a turn of my keys and a push of the door, I leaned forward to push it open. Like each time I'd come into work at this hour, I was greeted by the soft glow of twilight, and my attention had shifted towards the object on top of my glass-topped desk. I raised an eyebrow and made my way around the other side of it.

I set my bag onto the black cushion of my chair before taking a closer look. It was neatly arranged bouquet of fresh lavender roses, and all of their stems had been tied together in a thin glass vase. Positioning my face a little closer to the blooming flowers, I inhaled lightly. Upon breathing in such a pure and sweet aroma, the corner of my lips had tugged up just slightly. It soothed me.

Bringing my hand up to the translucent cylinder, I allowed my fingertips to travel along the rounded surface. A few long seconds had passed before I grabbed hold of the small paper card that was tied to it.

I quickly peered to the side so that I could read the typed message on it.

Letting out a shy laugh, I could feel my heart fluttering. How host-like of Kyouya; he must have contacted a local florist to have them delivered.

"The cool type, huh," I chuckled quietly, positioning the vase more to the side so that it wouldn't topple over. My cheeks were beginning to hurt from the continuous smiling, but I couldn't help it.

I slowly made my way over to the window and exhaled in content. The city skyline was beautiful at this time of day as always.

The thought dawned on me yet again: after three whole years of relying on phone calls, and video chatting, we'd finally get to see each other. Face-to-face.

It was only for a short visit, and another few months would pass until he was in Japan again for good, but I was more than satisfied. It was hard to believe that we were able to keep such a promise throughout the past few years, especially since the both of us struggled greatly to find time. Working alongside Yuzuha has involved lots of enormous projects that were long and drawn-out. I'd made my studies at Osaka my number one priority as well.

To add onto it, Kyouya had quite a bit to do on his own. Obtaining a business degree was _his_ number one priority; he'd even taken extra courses throughout breaks so that he'd be able to graduate early. Fortunately, he managed to find spare time within the next few days to take a small trip back home. He'd be returning a little later to obtain his MBA at the University of Tokyo.

I took a seat in my white swivel chair and let out another yawn. Before getting started on the next batch of emails, I peered over at the message on the card once more. It would serve as my bit of motivation for the night.

_Working hard as always, I assume. Hopefully the fragrance will help you to relax._

_Looking forward to seeing you again. _

_I love you._

_- Sushi_

* * *

Sunlight flooded through the airport's enormous window panes. Despite the bustle, my feelings of anticipation were so great that such a thing didn't do so much as distract me. My leg was moving back and forth just slightly out of nervousness, and I puffed out my cheeks while holding my phone closely to the side of my face.

"I assume you've received the roses?" Kyouya inquired through the tiny speaker.

I chuckled. "Yep. The scent was calming; thank you," I responded with a smile.

"I thought it would be," he responded, pausing for a few long seconds thereafter. "I'm nearly there; the terminal entrance is directly in front of me."

"And you're sure I'm in the right place?"

"Section 25-B?" he asked.

Another long pause.

"Hiroshi."

"What is it?" I queried, nibbling on my lip and peering over at the terminal.

My eyes snapped open immediately once I'd shifted my gaze, and my heart began to beat more rapidly. The person I'd been waiting for was standing only a few feet away from me, and he was staring right back at me. Not through a computer screen, and not through a photograph… he was actually here.

Frozen in my spot, I continued to fix my gaze on him as he paced quickly in my direction. In contrast to his formal business attire, he wore a gentle smile on his face.

His raven-colored hair was parted just the way it had always been, and his glasses were propped up perfectly on the bridge of his nose. It really was him.

I parted my lips just slightly to call out to him, but in an instant, he pulled me into a warm, tight embrace.

I gulped down the lump in my throat and wrapped my arms around him tightly as well. Inhaling lightly and taking in his cleanly smell once again, I felt a sense of wholesomeness beginning to overtake me. I shut my eyes and let out a chuckle as he held onto me even more tightly, seeing that he'd let go of his suitcase just to take such an action.

"Been a while, hasn't it?" he murmured into my hair.

Happiness began to spread through me once more as we basked in the warmth of the sun's glow.

"Welcome home," I exhaled with a smile.

* * *

_**Author's Note**_

Urrrrrrg. I'm really sorry to say that parts two and three of the epilogue will take a super long time, as I'm preparing for college and... gasp... the real world! It's all very exciting and scary, OTL.

But thank you so much for reading once again, cuties! Kyouya and Hiroshi have finally reunited; ain't it lovely? (´▽'ʃƪ) *heartheartheart* AND UM. Brace yourselves for some steaminess in the next part. Fair warning. Huehuehue.


End file.
